Holding On
by spikessweetgirl75
Summary: Takes place after the series finale Avery waits for Juliette to wake up from a coma so they can finally reunite. Will Juliette wake up and help Avery hold on to their dreams of a happy family? Or will everything fall apart?
1. Chapter 1

_(A/N: This is my first Nashville fanfiction. I just couldn't leave it at that ending. I'm hoping for this to be a continuing story about Javery's life together with baby Cadence. #BringBackNashville)_

The sound of the hospital equipment was the only sound in the otherwise silent room. The small still body of Juliette Barnes laid there, almost completely still. The only signs of life was the rise and fall of her chest as the breathing machine pumped oxygen into her lungs. It's been two weeks since the plane crash and she was the only one that had gotten the worse of the injuries. At first, the doctors and nurses had feared that she wouldn't make it, then she had stabilized, but had lapsed into a coma.

The story of Juliette's plane crash had been reported all around the world, with pundits, Journalists, and gossip mongers all comparing her to Patsy Cline, her first role in a movie, and a role that she had almost won an Oscar for. Everyone was sitting on pens and needles, waiting for the singer/actress to wake up, but no one was more anxious than Avery Barkley, Juliette's ex-husband.

It had been a turbulent year for Avery, starting with his marriage to Juliette falling apart, then her return from rehab, just as it looked as if he was going to get his life back together. Then there had been Layla Grant, who he had thought was another chance to get love right this time around, but as it turned out, she had just been using him to punish Juliette. Sure, she said that her feelings were genuine, despite how they had started out, but after her last stunt to harm Juliette, it was clear that she needed help and that there was no future there for him. Besides, he would never purposely have anything to do with someone out to hurt the mother of his daughter, no matter how she had broken his heart. Besides, despite this failed attempt to move on, he was still in love with Juliette. Most times, when he wasn't taking care of their daughter, he was thinking of her, missing her. But she had hurt him one too many times. He had been afraid to give her yet another chance. He loved her, but he wasn't a glutton for punishment.

After realizing the truth about Layla, Avery had taken his baby and returned to the house that he shared with Gunnar and Will. He put Cadence down for a nap and turned on the TV where to his surprise, Juliette was being interviewed. With dawning horror, and a breaking heart, he listened to Juliette recount the truth of the night that Jeff had died. He couldn't help but blame himself. He had known she was sick. After all, he had been part of an intervention begging Juliette to get help. But he had been too hurt at that point and his only motive was to protect himself and their daughter. Now he wished that he hadn't been so selfish. That he had at least sensed how bad things had gotten for Juliette.

He remembered that call he made the evening of the Oscars and the disappearance of Juliette's plane. When she had let him off the hook and he had told her that he and Cadence would be waiting for her when she came home. He didn't really think of what that could mean...that they both would be waiting. He didn't know until he was standing outside waiting for her plane with all the memories of their time together running through his mind. He realized that he did love her more than he had ever loved a woman before. Cadence was proof of that love. He couldn't just move on with his life, as if what they had meant nothing, because it did mean something. They had a baby tying them together. She still made his heart pound in his chest, just by the sound of her voice. Jealousy still sparked up inside him when another man even just looked at her.

Yes, he was still deeply in love with her. But he had been deeply scared of her as well. That was why he had gone to Layla when Juliette had made it clear that she wanted him back. That she was still in love with him and wanted to give their relationship another try. He had been afraid of his strong feelings for her. He had been afraid to trust those feelings, so he had gone to Layla, thinking that getting involved with another woman would prevent him from going to Juliette and getting hurt again.

That had been a mistake. One that he wouldn't make again. Despite his fears and resistance, he couldn't let her go, even when it was probably best to do so.

When he had found out about Layla's lies and schemes, it was clear that he didn't belong with her. That if he was going to be with a scheming woman, that woman was going to be Juliette. She was in his blood and he was so tired of fighting it. So he had returned to the house he shared with Gunnar and Will and he watched TV, thinking about what he was going to do.

The conversation with Juliette over the phone had made up his mind and he had gone to wait for her return. He was going to tell her that he loved her and wanted to be the family that Cadence deserved.

But her plane going missing had disrupted that reunion and now here he sat, two weeks later, waiting for her to wake up so he could tell her that the long separation was over. That he was finally ready to be brave enough to try again. If only she would open her eyes.

"No change yet?"

Avery looked up from where he was sitting to see Emily, Juliette's assistant standing in the doorway. Like Avery, she was a constant figure by Juliette's bedside, along with Glenn, Juliette's manager, who had flown back when he had heard about the crash. The three of them kept a constant vigil, hoping that their love would be enough to tempt Juliette into waking up.

"None. I don't get it. The doctor said that she's healing nicely. There's no broken bones, the bruises and contusions and broken ribs are healed. All she needs to do is wake up," Avery sniffed, rubbing his eyes, red from lack of sleep. "How's Cadence? The guys are keeping it together, aren't they?"

"She's fine. I think Scarlett staying over and helping is a good thing. She's rather good with her."

Avery smiled at the thought of his ex-girlfriend. There were a handful of people that he would trust with his baby girl. Scarlett was near the top of the list. She always had a way with babies. "Good. I'm glad she's there. She must really miss her mommy, though."

"Of course," Emily came over and sat at Juliette's other side. "We all do. I wish she would just wake up. She has so much to live for now. That baby girl being the most important thing of all. In fact...maybe you should go home and get some rest yourself and spend time with your daughter. I think she'd be a comfort to you."

Avery shook his head, rejecting the idea. Of course, he would love to be with Cadence, but he wanted to be there when Juliette woke up. He wanted her to see that what he said about being here when she got home wasn't just words. He meant them. "I need to be here when she wakes up."

"We don't know when that will be," Emily frowned, being careful not to say if. That would make Avery even more upset.

"I just wish I hadn't wasted all that time. I should have gone back to her when she told me that she still loved me instead of letting my own stupid fears cloud my judgment. We could have been together...we could have been a family. Now it's..."

"It's not too late. She'll wake up and you'll have that much delayed reunion," Emily reassured. "But you won't be doing her any good if you collapse just when she wakes up."

Avery sighed. Emily was right. He couldn't even remember the last time that he had slept. He only remembered sitting here by Juliette's side, waiting for her to wake up so he could tell her that he loved her and all was forgiven and that they could be the family that they should have always been from the beginning. "Call me if there's a change."

"Of course I will," Emily smiled and kissed his cheek once he had gotten to his feet. "I don't expect to see you back any time soon. I want you to get a nice deep sleep and a good meal and spend some time with that precious daughter of yours. Only then can you come back."

"Yes ma'am," Avery tried to smile, but it looked more like a grimace. He looked over at Juliette and walked over to her. He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I'll be back. I promise."

There was no response. She just laid there, eyes closed, oblivious to the world.

He turned around and walked out of the room, hoping that when he did return to the hospital, there would be some kind of change, instead of this tense limbo that he was in. He needed to know what the future held for himself and Cadence. Would he have the family he always wanted, or would he be forced to move on with the rest of his life and make the best out of a tragic situation. How long was he going to be left holding on?


	2. Chapter 2

(A/N:To celebrate CMT picking up Nashville for a 5th season, here's chapter 2! Also, thank you for the reviews and reads:) I hope everyone continues to enjoy the story. )

Layla was sitting on the top step when Avery pulled up in front of Gunnar's house. He sighed, annoyed to see her there as if she belonged nowhere else. She couldn't possibly think that he'd have anything to say to her, did she? He had said all that he wanted to say. Determined to ignore the intrusion, he got out of the car and started up the stairs.

"I know that I'm the last person that you want to see right now," She spoke, just as he inserted the key into the lock. "But just hear me out, okay?"

"I have nothing to say to you," He didn't even turn around to look at her. It wasn't that he was hurt by her admission of guilt. He was angry, on Juliette's behalf if nothing else. Layla had caused Juliette grief on what should have been a happy night for her. It hadn't been an accidental leak either. It had been purposefully done and meant to harm. Layla had wanted to destroy Juliette in the eyes of the public by leaking that news!

"Good. You don't have to say anything. Just listen."

Avery rolled his eyes and gave a tired sigh. He was in no mood to deal with Layla. But the girl won't leave him alone until she had her say. He might as well get it over with now. "Fine. I'm listening."

Layla nervously swallowed down her nervousness as Avery turned to face her. "Look, you're right. When I saw you at the wedding, my whole plan was to seduce you to hurt her. I had loved Jeff and she took him away from me. I wanted to do the same to her I wanted her to feel as lonely and wretched as I had felt. You had been a means to hurt her. But then...I got to know you and...I began to really like you. What we had...it was real. I swear on Jeff's grave that it was. I was so happy when you chose to be with me...for the first time since Jeff's death, I didn't feel alone. I felt as if someone really cared about me..."

"Well then why did you tell the media about Juliette and Jeff? What was the point of that if you were so happy with me?"

"It was like I told you. I had to show you what a horrible person she is. I mean...you were always going over to her place...talking to her..."

"I was dropping off Cadence! We have a daughter together, I wanted to at least keep everything civil for Cadence's sake! You didn't show her to be a horrible person! You showed yourself to be a horrible person! I can't be with someone who did what you had done!"

"She would have done the same and you know it! What is the difference?!"

Avery squeezed his eyes shut then opened them agian, looking at Layla as if he was seeing her for the first time. "You are wrong there! Juliette would never have done this! She would never use the press to destroy another person or to get more attention! She would never set out to destroy anybody! That is the difference between you and her! Juliette is a lot of things, but she's not hateful! You know, the funny thing is that I could have forgiven you befriending me to get back at Juliette. I could have forgiven you calling the paparrazzi in that alley, but I can not forgive you for trying to destroy the mother of my child and the woman that..."

"What? You love? And you wonder why I was so desperate!" Layla crossed her arms, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"No. I wonder why you are so full of hate. I feel sorry for you, Layla. Do yourself a favor. Go get help before you end up bitter and alone," Avery shook his head before unlocking the door and entering the house, leaving Layla on the porch crying.

...

 _The sky was the bluest that he had ever seen it. Fluffy clouds floated past, each one a different shape from the last. Looking around, he realized that he was in a big field full of white daisies, Juliette's favorite flower. He was sitting before a nice spread and across from him sat Juliette. She was wearing a blue checked dress and her hair was braided back away from her face. It gleamed golden in the warm sunlight._

 _"It is so beautful here," Avery looked around, not feeling surprised at all to be in this place with her. In fact, it felt as if he belonged here._

 _"This is my favorite place in all of Nashville. I haven't been here in a while though. Too busy," Juliette sighed, leaning back on her hands and smiling up at the sky. "It's so peaceful here. You can think."_

 _"Have you been here all of this time?"_

 _"Yes. Thinking about Cadence...I haven't been much of a mother to her, have I?" Juliette sighed, guilt clear in her eyes._

 _"That wasn't your fault. You were sick. It couldn't be helped."_

 _"Yes it could have. It had just taken Jeff's death to make me realize it when it should have only taken the pain in your eyes. I've hurt you so bad..."_

 _"That's the past. I understand now."_

 _Juliette looked at him with deep sadness in her eyes. "But you can't forgive me, can you? Not really. I've done too much damage."_

 _Seeing the sadness in her eyes made his own heart ache. "We can work through the damage. It's not too late."_

 _"How do you know that it's not?"_

 _"I just do. We can fix it. But I need you to come back. Cadence and I are waiting."_

 _She placed a warm hand over his and looked imploringly into his eyes. "Promise?"_

 _"Of course..."_

"Avery!" Scarlett shook him awake. He frowned and glared at her, angry that she had awoken him from his dream, the only way he could be with Juliette.

He grimaced and rubbed his eyes. "What the hell, Scarlett?"

She pushed the telephone into his hand. "Here. Emily is on the phone for you. I'm going back to feeding Cadence."

Hearing that it was Emily on the line woke Avery up fully. A part of him dreaded what she may have to say, afraid that it was bad news, but a more hopeful part hoped that it was something that he wanted to hear. "Emily?"

"She's awake, Avery. Juliette's awake!"

Avery didn't even say good-bye. He hung up the phone, hopped out of bed and slipped on his boots before grabbing his keys and heading for the door, running past his friends, who were all on the couch wanting a turn to play with Cadence.

"What did Emily say?" Scarlett spoke, knowing that it must be important to send Avery out the door like this.

"She' awake. Juliette's awake! I'll keep you updated, I have to go!"

They watched him leave also hoping for the best. Avery had not been himself since the plane crash. Hopefully, everything will end happily for his friend. After all that he's been through, he deserved the happiness that they now shared with each other.


	3. Chapter 3

Avery stood outside Juliette's room, his heart in his throat. He had been waiting for this moment for far too long. It felt like a million years since he had last spoken to Juliette and told her that he and Cadence were there for her. A million years since the plane crash and she had lapsed into a coma. During that time, he had gone over in his head all that he had wanted to say to her. That he loved her and had never stopped. That he was sorry that he had allowed himself to be manipulated by Layla. That he was sorry that he hadn't been as understanding as he should have been...that he had been so selfish. That he should have stood by her side and not let her push him and Cadence away. After all, he knew how she was. He knew that she self sabotaged herself and he had let her. He wanted to promise her that this time, he won't be so easily pushed. That he will be more understanding and patient. That she'll never have to go through what she had alone ever again.

But all those words fled when he stood outside her room, knowing that she was now fully awake.

"Avery?"

He turned around to find Emily smiling at him. "Emily...how is she?"

"Why don't you go in and find out?"

"I've seem to have forgotten what to say."

"Don't say anything. Just go in. I'm sure that she wants to see you," Emily urged him on, knowing that this reunion had been a long time in the making. Despite Avery's involvement with Layla, she always felt that sooner or later, the couple would reunite.

Avery nodded, agreeing with the idea of just going in and letting the cards fall where they will. It just was that, there was so much to say. So much to make up for, he didn't even know where to start. Taking one final deep breath, he pushed the door open and walked in to find Juliette wide awake with Glenn by her side.

"Look who's here!" Emily announced, entering the room right behind him.

Juliette looked up and smiled, her eyes reflecting surprise. "Avery..."

"How are you feeling?" He asked, feeling like it was such a stupid question, but a simple one.

"Like crap, but I guess that's to be expected."

"Avery's been here since they had brought you in. I had to order him home to sleep," Emily chuckled, wanting Juliette to know that Avery had been by her side from the start of this ordeal.

"Layla didn't mind?"

Avery met her eyes and shrugged. "Layla and I are over."

"Oh...I'm sorry?" Juliette frowned, not knowing how to respond to that. She couldn't say that she was really sorry, but it wouldn't be right to say good.

Sensing the tension between the pair, Glenn stepped over to Emily and took her hand. "Let's leave them some time alone."

Neither Avery, nor Juliette looked up as Glenn and Emily left the room. They only had eyes for each other it seemed.

"You don't have to be sorry. She...she wasn't who I thought she was," He didn't really want to go into it about Layla. Not at that moment anyway. She had just woken up and he didn't want to load her down with the truth of how what happened to Jeff got out there or of Layla's real motives behind dating him were. "I'm so glad to see that you're awake. The doctor said that you were healing nicely, despite the coma."

"I sure don't feel like it. I feel like I've been hit by a train," Juliette leaned back against her pillows, feeling more relaxed. She didn't know if it was just Avery's presence or the relief she felt that Layla Grant was no longer a part of their lives. She didn't know the details, she may never know them,but they weren't important. What was important was what came next.

"I suppose that's normal," Avery stuffed his hands into his jeans pocket, not knowing what else to say to her. It was amazing how all that he had to say just fled. "I mean, you were just in a plane crash. You took the worse of the injuries. It makes sense that you won't feel good upon waking up. But I'm sure that will change."

"Where's Cadence?"

Avery smiled, happy that she asked about their daughter, feeling more and more better about her becoming a part of their lives once again. "She's with Scarlett, Gunnar, and Will. They've been a godsend since the crash. They watched her while I was here with you...I can see if I can bring her tomorrow if you like."

"I'd love that. I can't wait to see my baby girl again."

"She certainly misses her mama."

"I miss her. Every time I think about what could have happened...about never seeing her again..."

Avery took a hand out of his pocket and gently gripped hers. "Hey, don't think about that. You did survive. You're home. And she's just waiting to see you."

"And you?" Juliette couldn't help herself. She knew that she was in no condition to have a long talk about their relationship, but she needed some clue of where she stood with him. She had to know if there was any hope for them as a couple.

"I meant what I said on the phone, Juliette. We're still here."

Juliette felt the tears in her eyes well up and she tightened her grip on his hand, afraid that if she let go, he'd disappear and all of this, him sitting by her side with her hand in his, that it would all be a dream. "I'm so sorry...for everything...for..."

"Shh. Not now...now you should rest and finish healing. We'll talk about everything when you're out of here and not just waking up from a coma."

"Do you forgive me?" She sniffed, using her free hand to wipe away her tears. She really wouldn't blame him if he couldn't forgive her. After all she had done to hurt him...she couldn't even forgive herself...not really.

"I forgave you a long time ago. I never could stay really mad at you..."

"I still love you, Avery. I just...I just want you to be happy. Even if it's not with me."

He raised her hand to his lips, kissing it gently. "I know. I...Iove you too. I never stopped."

She smiled, her heart beating fast at his words. "I know. That was never a question...even when it wasn't me you chose..."

It should have been her though. He knew that now. He should never have gone to Layla. The way he had felt about her...it had been nowhere near how he felt for the woman in the hospital bed. It was hard to admit, but Layla hadn't been the only one in the wrong. Yes, she had used him, but he had used her as well. He had used her to keep himself from giving into his first instinct, he had used to her to sstop himself from going to Juliette and giving into her request for another chance. It was a choice that he regretted greatly.

"Well, I choose you now. There never should have been another choice but you. I'm sorry about that."

"It's completely understandable. All the times I've hurt you...you can only forgive so many times..."

"Juliette...let's not go into that now, okay? I mean...we probably will have to, but right now...I just want to be happy that you're alive and we're together. I don't want anything to come between that right now."

"So you'll bring her tomorrow?"

Avery nodded. "Yes. And you can see her for as long as you like."

"I'd like that...thank you," She covered his hand with her free one, wanting to convey how much it meant to her that not only was he most likely coming back to her, but also that she got to spend more time with their daughter. She had so much time and so many things to make up for with both of them, she wondered if it'd even be possible to do.

"There's no need to thank me. She's your daughter too."

"How is everything going in here?" Emily stuck her head in the room, unable to resist checking up on them.

Juliette and Avery looked at each other and smiled. Things had not been right between them for ages, but now, things seemed to be stitching themselves back together again. Juliette was the one to turn her head to address her assistant. "Everything's going great."


	4. Chapter 4

_(A/N: Thank you for the likes, faves, and reviews. They are really appreciated:))_

It's been two weeks since Juliette had woken up from her coma. After a thourough exam and some physical therapy, the doctor finally released her from the hospital. She was up and ready to go, expecting to see Avery and Cadence, who have been a constant by her bedside since she woke up, but instead was met with Emily. Trying to hide her disappointment, she smiled.

"Hey, I'm surprised to see you here," Juliette greeted, hoping that her disappointment didn't show. She had been hoping that it would be Avery who would see her home.

"I know, I'm not Avery. But he had an appointment, so you're stuck with me. I'm sorry," Emily smiled apologetically. She knew that Juliette would be disappointed, but her reaction when she got home would be worth it.

"Don't be sorry! I'm happy to see you! Really!" Juliette reassured, giving her assistant a hug. "I just thought that Avery and Cadence would be here. I mean, the past few weeks...they've been like something I never expected. For the first time we felt like...a family. I just assumed..."

"Hey, he would have came if he could. But he asked me, knowing that we hadn't spent much time together since you woke up, which was my fault, I know. I just wanted to give you guys some bonding time."

"Which we did...I think," Juliette picked up the bag she had packed to take home. "Avery used to be an open book, but now...I don't know...I can't read what he's thinking. I'm afraid that he'll assume the worse and leave or...I don't know..."

"Hey. Don't worry. He obviously wants to put things back together again. But if I may...can I give some advice?"

"Sure."

"Don't rush it. I mean...the last time you two broke up and got back together, you got married not long after reconciling. You didn't even work out what had gone wrong. I understand, you were pregnant and the two of you...were highly emotional. But I still think that it would have been best if you took more time to work things out instead of going off and getting married. I just think it'd serve you both well if you two slowed down. Got to know each other again...iron out your differences and get back to a space where you two trust each other."

Juliette nodded, agreeing with what Emilie was saying. She was right when she looked back on it, it was obvious that she and Avery had moved too fast. They hadn't even really discussed things fully like they should have. They had never really healed and learned to trust one another. She wasn't going to make the same mistake this time. She wanted things with Avery to work. She loved him so much...more than she even thought it possible to love a man. She didn't want to lose him. But she would if she didn't do things right.

"You're right. I won't rush it. We have a lot connecting us...music...Cadence...and our love...but we'll need more if we're going to work..."

"And you will. I believe in you two," Emily gave her employer/friend's hand a supportive squeeze.

"Well let's get me home. The sooner I get there, the sooner I can see my baby girl."

...

Juliette stared at the dark house as Emily pulled up in front. It was dark and quiet. Lonely. Kind of like her life, or the way it had been before the accident.

"Home sweet home," Emily gave a bright smile.

"Yeah. Home sweet home," Juliette sighed, opening the car door and sliding out. She grabbed her purse and bag, thinking that maybe it was time to downsize some. The house held so many...hard memories. A fresh start in a new house may be just what the doctor ordered.

"Nothing has been moved. Everything is just as you had left it," Emily replied as she stuck the key in the door and opened it for Juliette to step through. "There should be no surprises at all."

Juliette just gave Emily a strange look before stepping in. She frowned, wondering why it was so dark in middle of the day. "Emily, you paid the light bill right? Why is it so dark?"

"Surprise!"

Startled, Juliette took a step back and blinked in surprise as the lights switched on to reveal a familar group of people in the middle of her living room. Rayna, Deacon, Maddie, and Daphne. Glenn. There was Will, Gunnar, and Scarlett, and Luke and his son Colt. And at the head of the group, a wide smile on his handsome face with their baby girl in his arms was Avery.

"What is this?" she stared, taken aback. She had not been expecting a party at all.

"Surprise!" Emily smiled, unsure if they had done the right thing. What if Juliette really didn't want a party? "It was Avery's idea. He thought you may like to be surrounded by your friends and family. The people who love you."

Avery just blushed and shrugged. "Nah, Emily helped with the brainstorming. I can't take all of the credit. We realized that all of your friends wanted to welcome you home and what better way to do that than a surprise party?"

Juliette looked around the room, touched by the sentiment. In this room were people who had been good to her and people that she hadn't even known considered her a friend. Just a few minutes ago, she was feeling lonely, but now she realized that alone was something that she never was. She had friends, people that cared about what happened to her. She just hadn't known it.

"I don't know what to say...thank you," She smiled at her former husband, tears shining in her eyes. "It's so great to see everybody..."

"We were all praying for you, Juliette," Rayna came up and gave her a big hug. "We're so glad that you're okay, sweetie."

"Yeah. You had us scared there for a moment," Deacon smiled, coming up to wrap an arm around Rayna's shoulders.

"I scared myself," Juliette chuckled. "I'm so happy to have everyone here."

"You must be tired," Avery took her bags as he handed Cadence over to her. "Let's sit these down and get you comfortable."

Juliette hugged Cadence close as she allowed Avery to take her bags and sit them in a far corner near the stairs and came back to lead her over to the couch and help her sit down with their daughter in her arms. A part of her couldn't believe this. It was like a dream. She had given up any hope of getting Avery back, but now here he was along with their friends. No Layla in sight.

"I made some food for everyone," Scarlett appeared behind Avery. "I'll make you a plate if you'd like?"

Juliette was about to refuse when Avery turned around and spoke. "Would you? That hospital food was less than ideal. I honestly think that they try to starve you to death."

Juliette just chuckled in response, even though she kind of agreed. "It wasn't that bad..."

For the next two hours, Juliette found herself totally relaxed, sitting on the couch next to Avery, letting him feed her the food that Scarlett had prepared and just enjoying the presence of her friends and family. It truely felt like she had come home, with her daughter in her arms, the man she loved beside her, and their friends surrounding them with stories of their time on tour and what had gone on in their lives.

Parties don't last forever though. Eventually, they came to an end. Two hours later found everyone but Cadence and Avery saying goodbye and filing out the door, promising to drop back by in a few days or call and make arrangements for a meet up.

Once alone, Avery and Juliette looked at each other, not really knowing what to say now that there was no one else to make conversation.

"That was a great party. Thank you," Juliette broke the silence.

"Ah, it was nothing. I mean, everyone was wondering how you were and I figured this was a great way for them to find out for themselves and for you to find out what was going on with them at the same time," he smiled, running a hand through his long dark hair. "I'm glad that it wasn't too much..."

"It was perfect," Juliette smiled, adjusting Cadence in her arms as she realized that the baby had drifted off to sleep. "Look who's a sleepy head."

"Poor thing, she had a long day. I should probably put her to bed..."

"Can I? Or do you want..."

"Certainly. Be my guest," Avery smiled, feeling sad that she would even have to ask him for permission to put their daughter to bed.

Juliette just smiled and got to her feet and headed upstairs to the nursery. She gently placed her daughter inside the baby bed and gently stroked her cheek. "Good night sweet heart. Sweet dreams for momma's little princess."

Avery stood in the doorway, his arms crossed as he watched the scene before him. She really was a good mom. It broke his heart that it couldn't have always been like this. It wasn't her fault, he knew that. But it still made him feel sad for both her and their daughter.

"She's happy that you're home," Avery stated as Juliette walked out of the nursery, turning the light out on her way into the hall.

"She's not the only one. I plan to sleep for a week in my own bed," Juliette chuckled.

Avery just laughed. "I don't blame you. I think when compared to the beds in the hospital, our own is always better."

It didn't used to be just her bed, though. It had been his bed too and when she thought about all the moments they spent in that bed...she blushed and looked away, pushing the thoughts to the back of her mind. She couldn't think about that now. Not with him being so close.

"Well...I better go now. You don't mind keeping Cadence for the night do you?" He asked, feeling the same tension that Juliette felt at that moment.

"Of course I don't mine. She can stay here for the night," Juliette rubbed the back of her neck, noticing just how blue his eyes seemed at that moment. Intense and electric and they drew her to him like a she was a moth and he was a flame. She couldn't stop herself, even if she wanted to. "So can you...that is if you want to..."

Avery stared at her. It hadn't been an offer that he hadn't been expecting...or one that he should even accept, despite their working towards a reconciliation. "Do you want me to?"

Juliette simply nodded. She wanted him to stay more than anything. She never wanted him to leave, really. "You don't have to sleep in the same room if you don't want...but...it'd be nice to just...have you here."

Avery smiled, her shyness melting his heart even more. She was so cute when she looked unsure of herself. "Okay...I'll stay. No problem."

They stood in that spot, just smiling at each other, sensing that things really were mending themselves and that maybe, things will work out this time. It was just going to take patience, love, and determination.

...

Will, Scarlett, and Gunnar found Layla sitting on the top porch step when they returned to Gunnar's house. The trio just looked at each other, as if asking who was going to deal with the intrusion. Finally Will sighed and stepped forward.

"She's my ex-wife. I'll deal with it. You two go on in," he waved his friends inside and at the same time, wondered if Avery was even going to return to the house since he and Juliette seemed to be on the mend now. He looked at the girl he had once married and called a friend and realized just how small and lonely she looked. He couldn't help but feel sorry for her, even though he was pissed off for what she did to Avery and Juliette. Shaking his head, he went to sit next to her. "What are you hoping to accomplish showing up here like this? Avery's not even here."

"Can you tell me where he is?" she looked at him, her eyes pleading.

"Do you really want to know?" Will sighed, giving her a pointed look. "That was an evil thing you did, Layla. I never figured you to be like that."

"You don't understand...Jeff and I...I loved him more than anything. He was going to have me move in with him. He was helping me with my career...he loved me and she took all of that away. She ruined my life!"

"It was an accident, Layla. Even though Jeff was a slime ball and he did things to my friends that were horrible, no one meant for that to happen. Certainly not Juliette. She may be a lot of things, but she's not malicious and she's not a murderer. She didn't want him dead. He died a hero if anything."

"If she hadn't been up there..."

"But she had been and Jeff was too and he tried to save her when he could have just let her fall. He did the right thing for once. Yes, it's sad that he died because of it, but it is what it is. That does not give you cause to take advantage of and use people, Layla."

"Is that what he told you?"

"He basically told me that you had just been using him to get to Juliette. Is that true or not?"

Layla sighed and looked down at her hands, wondering herself how she had come to be this way. She hadn't meant to hurt Avery. That had been the last thing she wanted to do. She had wanted to hurt Juliette. She wanted to take something away from her...the one person that she knew loved her. Just like she had caused Layla to lose Jeff. She hadn't meant to hurt Avery, just like she hadn't expected to fall in love with him. But she had...it had been something real...but now it was all ruined. Thanks to Juliette, always having to be the victim.

"Look, at first it was all about getting back at Juliette. I'll admit that. I wanted her to suffer and Avery was nice and easy on the eyes anyway, so why not? But I grew to really really like him. He was good to me and he listened to me and I could tell that he had been really hurt by Juliette too and I wanted to help him heal. I didn't mean to hurt him. You have to believe me."

Will sighed and leaned back, his sympathy for the girl deepening. Sure, she had used his friend, but she also had genuine feelings for him. But it was too late. He knew from experience that things that started out as a lie never lasted.

"Look, I understand the need for revenge, but you can't just use people like that. Avery had real feelings and emotions. He really liked you. But your first intentions...they were wrong Layla. No matter how real your feelings are now, it doesn't matter because you weren't genuine from the start. If you had been...maybe you would have a chance with Avery."

"So what do I do now? Walk away? Let her win?"

Will looked at he sadly, hating that things never worked out for Layla. Especially this time, because she had no one to blame but herself. "I'm sorry, but yes. That's exactly what you do. Walk away and find something that's real and not built on deception. Avery...he's a nice guy. Someday he'll forgive you and maybe you two can be friends, but I can tell you right now...his heart is with Juliette. He has a baby with her. There's no future for you there...even if you had been genuine from the start."

"But I love him..."

"Do you? Think about it, Layla. Think about what you had done since meeting him? Would you really do what you did to someone he cares about if you really loved him, knowing how it would hurt him?"

Layla sighed, tears dripping from her chin. She knew that Will was right. If she had truly loved Avery, she wouldn't have gone to the press about Juliette, because for some reason it would have hurt him because she was the mother of his child. But she couldn't admit it. At least not at that moment.

"I just wanted him to know what kind of person she is."

"He already knew that. He didn't need any help from you and for the record, she not as evil as you want to make her out to be. She's human. Just like you are. She's made mistakes and she regrets them. Just like you regret hurting Avery. Maybe try putting yourself in her shoes," Will got to his feet, not having anything else to say. "Look, I doubt that Avery will be back here tonight. Go home. Take a hot bath and get some sleep. Move on with your life Layla. Perhaps leave Nashville and start somewhere new. Just leave it alone with Avery. You'll just cause yourself more pain."

"I can't do that. I...need him to know that what we had was real."

"Well, I'm telling you. You're doing more harm than good. If you were smart, you'd take my advice," Will said, walking into the house, feeling that there was no more to say. He had tried to give the girl some advice. If she didn't take it, there was nothing that he could do..


	5. Chapter 5

Juliette groaned with frustration. She glared up at the ceiling, realizing that sleep just wasn't going to come, no matter how hard she tried to get there. She looked to her right and sighed. The empty space where Avery once slept was openly glaring at her. The fact that he was in the room across from her own wasn't helping any. He was finally under the same roof as her and she missed him more than ever.

Giving up, she slipped out of bed and wrapped her favorite pink cotton robe around her. She was just going to do what she always did on sleepless nights. Write. Maybe she could come up with a song worth releasing. Make this insomia work for her. But before she did that, she peeked in on a sleeping Cadence. Her heart melted at the sight of her daughter. Cadence was the perfect combination of herself and Avery and she was the most beautiful baby that she had ever seen. She especially loved her eyes, the exact shade of her father's.

Smiling, she silently closed the door and made her way downstairs. She was heading for her couch when she saw Avery sitting there, guitar in hand. He wasn't playing, but she could tell by the tilt of his head, that he had a melody in mind.

"This is a sight for sore eyes," Juliette stood in the door way.

Startled, Avery looked up and then smiled. "Hey. You couldn't sleep either?"

"No. I tossed and turned and kept ending up staring at the ceiling," She sighed, taking a seat on the loveseat across from him. "What is your reason for being up."

"I couldn't stop thinking, I guess," he shrugged. "I just remembered the late night jam sessions we used to have when one of us couldn't sleep."

"Yes,I remember those. I think we did our best work during those times. It was just hot chocolate, the music, and us..."

Avery smiled, admiring the nostalgic look in her eyes as she remembered. Their jam sessions had been one of his most favorite times with her. They had been times when they had really opened up and gotten to know one another. They had been the only time where they hadn't argued or had done something hurtful to one another. "Maybe we should have another one. For old times sake..."

"I wouldn't say no," Juliette smiled, happy to spend any amount of time alone with Avery. "We should probably keep it down though. We don't want to wake Cadence."

"That won't be a problem. Once she's asleep, she stays that way, no matter how loud it gets and it sometimes got pretty loud living with Gunnar and Will," Avery chuckled.

"I bet."

"Okay...so what do you want to do? Do you have a particular song in mind?"

"Well...there was this one I was working on when I had gotten home from rehab...but then I had stopped...it's not really completed."

"Well, why not complete it now?"

Juliette nibbled on her bottom lip, unsure about working on that particular song. It had been about how she had messed things up with the most important people in her life and how she hoped to make amends. She had planned to dedicate it to Avery and Cadence...but then Avery had made it clear that he didn't want to try again and was moving on with Layla. So with a heavy heart, she had let him go and had pretty much forgotten about the song.

"It's pretty personal...about messing up the best things in my life and getting them back."

Avery frowned. "Why did you stop?"

Juliette shrugged with a blush, feeling embarrassed. "I decided to stop when it seemed impossible to regain the best thing that had ever happened in my life. My relationship with you..."

"Oh," Avery looked down at the guitar in his hand, feeling guilty for his part in their break up, from his push for a divorce to his choosing Layla just because he had been afraid of getting hurt by Juliette yet again. "I don't know what to say..."

"There's nothing to say. I mean...it was my own fault, our marriage falling apart. Hurting you so bad that you couldn't give us another chance...not yet anyway. Making you vulnerable to someone like Layla..."

"That last part wasn't your fault. That was mine. You asked me to be brave, but I couldn't. I took the easy way out. It was a cowardly move and I'm sorry..."

"You have nothing to be sorry for. It's not the first time that I had broken your heart. You had been brave enough to give me another chance once before and I blew it. You had every right to turn away and try to move on. Even though, it could have been with someone a little more prettier...a little more talented..."

Avery laughed and shook his head. "Hey, I thought that Layla was sweet and genuine and had been hurt a lot in her life. I had no idea how crazy she was!"

"I'll admit, she did hide it well. Even though, I can't blame her for any of it. Not after all I had done to her. She had loved Jeff. They were going to have a life together and I took that away from her. She had every right to hate me..."

Avery put his guitar to the side and took her hand in his. "She may have had a right to be mad, but she had no right to do all she had done, from coming between us to going to the press about what had happened. She claimed that she had wanted to make you look like a horrible person. But she's the horrible one."

"She's grieving, Avery. I would have been just as pissed off and vengeful if someone had been the cause of your death, especially when it looked like we were getting everything that we had finally wanted."

"Would you? Would you have inserted yourself in the middle of an already troubled couple? Would you have gone out of your way to make someone pay and feel the pain you felt? To destroy someone's career?"

Juliette looked away, not knowing what to say. Of course she knew the answer to that. She may be a diva at times. She may be selfish and hard to deal with. Heck, maybe even hard to love. But she had never been feuled by revenge. She would never try to use a man like Layla had done. She would never have gone to the press and try to destroy someone's career, no matter how much they had deserved it.

Avery just smiled, seeing the answer in her eyes. It was the answer he had always known, because he knew Juliette. He knew that the tough, diva act was just a sheild. A sheild to hide the soft, sweet, sensitive, yet damaged woman beneath. It was that woman that he loved so much that he could never really let her go. No matter how much it ended up hurting him in the end.

"That's what I thought. You're not capable of such a thing," He smiled, gently touching her cheek, causing her to look into his eyes, her own eyes shining with tears.

"How do you know? I may be just as horrible as Layla thinks."

"Because I know you. The real you. The real you was the lady who was on TV, confessing to the world and telling the truth about Jeff. That was the woman I loved. Not the horrible starlet that Layla tried to paint you as."

"You love me, still?"

"I never stopped, Juliette. I tried. God knows,I've tried so many times but...I can't seem to help myself. The minute I think that I'm over you...I see the woman you are and...I just can't let go. I can't move on. It's scary how deeply I love you...so deeply that I can never walk away...not really."

She smiled, the tears leaving her eyes at his confession. He loved her. He still loved her! She hadn't lost him after all. Perhaps she never would! "I love you too...of course, you probably already know that."

Avery chuckled. "I had an idea."

She laughed and reached over to touch his cheek as well, savoring the feel of warm skin beneath her hand. It felt so good to touch him. She had missed him so much. She swore that this time, she was going to work on making it work. She was not going to be the one to break his heart this time. She was going to be the woman that he deserved, not the messed up diva that always ended up stomping all over his heart.

"It's going to be different this time, I promise..."

"Don't make promises, Juliette. Since neither of us are perfect, it's best to just take it one day at a time and leave the promises out of it," Avery placed a hand over hers, the emotions in her eyes reaching his heart.

Juliette didn't answer. She just leaned in and gently, almost hesitantly pressed her lips against his in a soft kiss. She was expecting him to pull away, but was pleasantly surprised when he kissed her back. The kiss sent tingling sparks of pleasure through out their bodies, before they reluctantly pulled away, knowing that this was a new phase of their relationship. They weren't back 100 percent, but they both knew that it wouldn't be long until they were at least near it. Just as long as things kept moving at a steady pace.


	6. Chapter 6

Will was in the kitchen, nursing a steaming cup of coffee when Avery returned from Juliette's, a gurgling Cadence in his arms. He immediately placed the cup down and walked up to retrieve the baby from her father.

"How is my favorite cowgirl, huh? Did you have fun with daddy and mommy last night?" Will cooed, tickling the baby to gain a giggle in return.

Avery smiled, enjoying the familar sight of his friend playing with his daughter. It seemed like if he didn't have Cadence in his arms, Will did. He was always playing with her, hugging her, or singing to her. It made him feel good that his daughter would never lack people who loved her.

"Say I slept like a log, Uncle Will," Avery chuckled, placing Cadence's supplies on the counter top.

"Cadence wasn't the only one that didn't come home last night," Will stated, an amused light in his eyes as Avery nervously rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well, that's because I too stayed at Juliette's last night. She asked and I accepted," Avery cleared his throat, feeling a little self conscious.

"And?"

"And nothing happened. We slept in separate rooms...I mean...well...we really didn't sleep at all. We kind of stayed up and talked about our relationship..."

"Well that's a good thing, right?"

"Of course. In fact...things are looking pretty good. We each apologized for our part in what happened and we're going to rebuild...this time slowly and we're making no promises. It's all going to be one day at a time," Avery nodded, feeling good about his decision to give Juliette another chance. As much as he may argue with his father, it felt good to grow up in a complete home. To know that when he came home that both of his parents would be there for him. He wanted the same for Cadence and he was going to do all that he could to give her that. Plus, he truly did love Juliette. He couldn't picture himself loving anyone the way he loved her. If he could make this work...he'd be a happy man.

"Well that's good. I'm happy for you two. You deserve all the happiness in the world, as well as this gorgeous girl," Will grinned, kissing the baby's cheek.

"Thanks man, that means a lot..."

"But what about Layla? I mean...I know it's none of my business and after all that she had done, you have a right to be angry but...do you think that you'll ever forgive her?" Will chewed on his lower lip, knowing that he was probably overstepping here, but in a way he felt responsible for Layla. After all, he had been the beginning of her downfall. If he hadn't been denying who he was and marrying her...if he hadn't agreed to that stupid reality show...maybe things would have been different for the girl. Maybe she would have found true love elsewhere. He had hurt Layla more than anyone ever could. It was only right that he'd try to at least get Avery to forgive her.

Avery sighed and pushed his hair away from his face. He then stuck his hands in his pockets and shrugged. "Maybe someday...but not now. I mean...she tried to destroy Juliette's career. She only talked to me at Deacon and Rayna's wedding, just to get even with Juliette. I...I can't forgive her right now."

"But someday?"

"Maybe. I don't know. Why are you asking me this? I mean, I know you two were friends and everything but..."

Will shrugged, unsure how he could explain himself. "I just feel responsible for her. I mean...if I hadn't married her knowing that I was gay...maybe she wouldn't be so messed up now."

"Well, in my book, you have more than made up for that. She can't keep hanging onto that forever. What she did is on her, man. Not on you. You don't owe her a thing."

"At least...talk to her, man. Give her a chance to apologize."

Avery sighed. He appreciated Will's effort to help, both him and Layla. He really did, and he could even see why his friend would feel responsible for the girl. But really, this mess with Layla was none of his concern. Layla had made this mess. She can live with the consequences of her actions. "I can't make any promises."

Will nodded, not really surprised by the answer. "Fine. I understand. But let's not forget that she wasn't the only one using someone either."

Avery frowned, a tad bit hurt, even though he knew it was the truth. "I know that..."

"Good. Maybe you two can find common ground then. I'll put Cadence to sleep. Give you a little break," Will smiled, picking up the baby supplies and heading up to the nursery.

Avery watched him go, his words ringing through his head. Maybe Will was right. Maybe Layla wasn't the only one who had to apologize. Rolling his eyes, he grabbed the car keys. He wasn't in the mood, but he might as well go get it over with now and then put it all behind him. After today, he planned never to see Layla Grant again, much less talk to her.

"Will! I'll be back!" He hollered up the stairs before marching out the door, not allowing himself to think about what he was going to say. If he did that, he may not do what he had to do at all.

...

Layla closed her suitcase and looked around at the now bare walls of her apartment. She had decided to leave Nashville. Yes, her album was taking off, and she still had her contract at Highway 65, but she needed to leave this place where she had lost so much and had made so many mistakes. She needed to start anew. She'll come back whenever she needed to, but Nashville couldn't be her home base. Not anymore. There were too many memories here of Jeff...Avery...Will...and the bad decisions she had made with all three of them. Especially with Avery. He had been the one that she had hurt. She had no business befriending him the way she had and for the reason she had. She knew that he had been hurt by Juliette and that he hadn't been in a good place. Yet, at the time she hadn't cared. She had just wanted to hurt Juliette, not caring who she hurt in the process.

The buzz at the door brought her out of her thoughts. She frowned, wondering who it could be. She hadn't been expecting anyone to drop by, especially now when the only people talking to her were Rayna and Bucky and they had no reason to stop by. She walked over and opened the door and gasped, surprised by who was on the other side.

"Avery?"

"I need to talk to you," Avery simply stated, his face betraying no emotion so she couldn't tell how he was feeling. Usually he was an opened book, but now there was a wall between them.

"Sure. Okay. Come on in," Layla stepped aside, granting him entrance.

He looked around, surprised at how everything was packed up. "You're moving?"

She shrugged. "Actually, I'm leaving Nashville. I probably should have done that after Jeff...start over somewhere new...where there's no memories..."

"That's probably not a bad idea. I left for a while...but I came back..."

"Did it help?"

"Not really. Probably why I came back...plus Nashville became home to me..."

"Well, I guess that's where we're different. I never really felt at home here. Especially after that reality show...I thought that I could make it a home with Jeff...but...well. You know how that ended," Her voice had a bitter tinge to it, but she lowered her eyes to the ground, knowing that bringing up Jeff would bring up what she had done to Juliette and how she had used him to get back at her. "Look, I'm really sorry for what I did. I...I wasn't thinking about how it would affect you. I didn't take in consideration that you were going through some issues and that befriending you because of an agenda...wasn't the smart thing to do. I'm sorry. But I swear...what we had...what happened between us...it was real for me. It was. I care about you so much, Avery...it may have started off as something else...but it turned into something real..."

Avery sighed, not knowing what to say. He had came to apologize for using her to forget Juliette. He didn't even know that what he had felt for her was real or just relief for not having to deal with his feelings for a woman that had hurt him so much. Yes, he had been hurt that Layla's real motive had been revenge...but it didn't hurt as bad as it should have.

"Layla...I came here to apologize to you myself. I had given it some thought and I realized that you weren't the only one using someone. I was so afraid of giving Juliette another chance...of getting hurt like that again...that I hid behind wanting to move on and starting something with you when I should have been working on figuring out the mess my love life was in already. I'm not saying that what I had felt for you wasn't real. I really did care about you. I...I guess we were both at a crossroads and it was easier to turn to you than to risk getting hurt by Juliette agian, because I at least knew...or at least thought I knew, that you cared...it wasn't the right thing to do though. I should never have gone to your room that night...I should never had started anything with you at all, knowing that I still had feelings for Juliette.

"You're not the only one in the wrong here. I was too. I'm not innocent at all in any of this. I just wanted to say that I'm sorry."

Layla wiped the tears falling from her eyes, hurt over his words. In a way, it was a relief not to be the only one in the wrong, but it still hurt knowing that he thought that their relationship shouldn't have happened. That he had been using her too. "Well, I guess we're both a couple of users, huh?"

"Yeah. At least you weren't a coward like I was."

Layla shook her head. "You're not a coward. You had been hurt numerous times by her...who would go right back to someone after all you've been through? Plus it was brave to admit to what you had. You didn't have to. You could have just let me leave and not admit to anything. But you didn't..."

"I better go...I just wanted to tell you I was sorry for my part."

"I really did care about you, Avery. We really could have had something good..."

"But you had to have your revenge against Juliette. So I guess we'll never know," Avery turned to go, but Layla stopped him, she just had to know.

"You are going back to her, aren't you?" She tried not to make her voice accusing, but she had a feeling that she failed.

"That's what I should have done from the start. I don't know if it'll work...but I want to try. If Jeff was still here...and he had hurt you, you'd probably give him another chance too. It's what you do when you're in love with someone."

"Well, for your sake, I hope it works out this time. You're a good guy, Avery. You deserve to be happy. Even if it's with her..."

"Funny, that's almost what she said to me when you and I had got together. Goodbye, Layla. I hope you have better luck in life wherever you move to."

She watched him walk out the door with tears in her eyes. Even though he said he had been using her too, she had a feeling that they still could have had something real if she hadn't ruined it. Now once again she had lost to Juliette Barnes. It was like she was cursed. She'd meet someone great, just for everything to fall apart in the end, but this time she had no one to blame but herself.

Layla decided then that it was a good thing that she was leaving Nashville. This way, she didn't have to see Avery and Juliette together. She didn't have to know how good Juliette had it. But before she left, she had one more thing to do and then she can put this whole mess behind her and start off somewhere new.

...

Juliette had just gotten off the phone with Glenn. He had wanted to schedule her for an interview talking about the crash and losing the Oscar and what she had planned now. To be honest, she was not ready to return to the spotlight just yet. She wanted to take time off to spend with Cadence and Avery and just recuperate in peace. Of course, Glenn had understood and had agreed to not schedule anything for a month, which should give her time to rest and recuperate.

She was making her way to the kitchen to pour herself a glass of wine, when her doorbell rang. She wondered who that could be? Emilie? What if it was Avery, needing her to take Cadence? Nearly running to the door, she opened it and frowned to see the last person she ever wanted to find on her doorstep. Layla Grant.

"What do you want?" Juliette eyed her former rival, wondering what this was about. She felt bad for what happened to Jeff, but that did not mean that her feelings towards the girl that had almost came between her and Avery had softened.

"Look, this won't take long. I just wanted to say that I am sorry for going to the press about Jeff. I did it because I was jealous of how Avery always seemed to jump when you called. I was jealous that even after you broke up, you still had a relationship and he had made it clear that it wouldn't change. So I went to the press, hoping to show Avery that you were a horrible person. Instead, he saw me as the horrible one. I see that I was wrong now and...I'm sorry."

"Okay," Juliette looked at her, not really feeling anything for this girl. She couldn't even feel anger, since what happened to Jeff was her fault and Avery had every right to move on and it wasn't like she hadn't done something stupid out of jealousy herself.

"I'm leaving town, but I wanted you to know that. You are lucky to be getting another chance with him. He's a great guy. If I were you, I'd make sure not to hurt him like that again. You may not be so lucky next time and the next girl won't make the same mistakes I had made. She'll be better than the both of us and then there would be no getting him back," Layla warned, before turning around to head back to her car.

Juliette crossed her arms, absorbing Layla's words. Don't hurt Avery again, because the next girl will be better than the both of them and would make sure not to mess up. She had to admit, Layla had a point. But how to keep from hurting him? How to be the woman that he deserved? Maybe she couldn't be. Maybe it was her destiny to always hurt him and lose him. Maybe Layla was right and she was a horrible person, always destined to be alone, hurting anyone that tried to make it different.

She didn't deserve Avery. She knew that. Maybe her decision to let him go...maybe it had been the right one. Maybe the best thing she could do for Avery was to sit him free so he could find the kind of woman that he did deserve. Someone that did not make it a habit to hurt him whenever she got the chance.


	7. Chapter 7

Juliette was at the kitchen table, sipping a hot cup of tea, her mind still going over what Layla had said in her short visit. Make sure not to hurt Avery again. She had indeed gotten lucky...once again. She had almost lost him for good and if she lost him again...it most likely will be for good. He would find a woman that wouldn't make either of her or Layla's mistakes.

But she always hurt him. In both their break ups, it had been her to break his heart in pieces and stump on them. Who said that it wouldn't happen again? Could she really trust herself not to? God, she loved him so much...she would rather die than hurt him...but what if she couldn't help herself? After all, she did have a problem with self sabotage.

Maybe it was best to just let him go now and save them both a whole lot of pain later. Maybe she was just meant to be alone...or in short term relationships, where no one got hurt at all.

She closed her eyes at that solution. She didn't like it all...but if it would save Avery heartache and pain...she'd do it. At least she knew that he would be happy and well loved by someone that couldn't hurt him as badly as she kept hurting him...

The knock at her door pulled Juliette from her thoughts. She frowned, wondering who that could be so early in the morning. She had no meetings or interviews planned and she really wasn't expecting a visit with Cadence. She had been expecting a morning to herself, to plan what to do about the Avery situation. Sadly, it looked like that wasn't going to happen.

Sighing, she opened the door and blinked to find Emily and Avery, with Cadence in his arms, smiling at her.

"Emily? Avery? What's going on?" She stared, confused.

"Good morning!" Avery and Emily greeted in unison.

"What is this?" Juliette frowned.

"Nothing really. I was wanting to treat you to breakfast," Emily began to explain, but was interrupted by Avery.

"And I was thinking that it would be nice if you, me, and Cadence had breakfast together...and we ran into each other at your front door," Avery explained, his smile bright and happy...the happiest that Juliette had ever seen it since her return from rehab.

"And I was thinking that since both of us had the same idea, we should join forces and take you to breakfast together," Emily grinned. She couldn't think of anything she'd like more than to have breakfast with the two people that she considered to be her best friends in Nashville. "What do you say? I can cook..."

"Or I can. I've perfected my mom's bacon, cheese, and egg scramble," Avery offered. "Or we can eat out if you rather."

"I think the scramble sounds good," Juliette smiled, taking Cadence out of Avery's arms, hoping that he didn't notice her gloomy mood. "I had just done some grocery shopping so I should have everything you need in the kitchen."

"Perfect," Avery grinned, leaning in and giving her a tender kiss before heading into the kitchen, leaving Juliette and Emily to themselves.

"Where are my manners, come on in," Juliette smiled, ushering her assistant/friend into the living room.

Emily smiled and walked in, depositing her purse on the cocktail table. "It looks like you're settling in nicely."

Juliette shrugged. "I'd like to thank so. It feels so wierd to be back home and not traveling somewhere. But I'm glad that I have this time to just be still."

"I understand. Don't get me wrong, I love touring with you, there's nothing like being at home, surrounded by your things. Just being able to think without having be somewhere or do something."

"And it's good for my baby girl as well," Juliette smiled, cuddling Cadence some. The sound of sizzling eggs brought Avery back to mind and the task she had convinced herself that she had to do to make sure that he was happy and she wouldn't end up hurting him. "So, you and Avery seem to be close..."

Emily frowned, remembering the time when Juliette and accused her of having something going on with Avery behind her back. She had been hurt and confused by the accusation. "We're just friends, Juliette. We mostly only talk about you."

Guessing at what Emily was thinking, Juliette chuckled. "I'm not jealous or anything. I was just making an observation. I'm glad that you two have become friends...in fact, you're good to him...in fact, you're better than I am. A girl like you would never have hurt him as much as I have..."

Emily reached over and placed a hand on Juliette's knee, sensing the sadness in her friend's voice. "You didn't mean to..."

"I never mean to. But I do anyway. I can't even explain it. It's like I can't just let myself be happy. I can't hurt him like that again...I...he...he needs to be with someone who knows how to have a healthy relationship and doesn't always sabotage herself..."

"Well obviously, he doesn't want to be with anyone else. He wants to be with you. He loves you...rather deeply. He wants to be the family that you and Cadence deserve."

"You can give him that family, Emily..."

Emily frowned. She didn't understand Juliette. She had wanted to get back with Avery so badly, but now, just when it looks like it's going to happen, she was trying to give him away on a silver platter, and by looking at her, it was making her miserable. Something had to have brought this on.

"What happened between now and the last time we spoke? You told me on the phone that things were looking good with Avery and by how happy he looks to just be in the same area as you...I say that you were right. But now you are here, trying to give him up to me...which I refuse to accept by the way. Something must have happened to fill your head with doubts. Out with it," Emily crossed her arms and gave Juliette a look that told her that she wouldn't accept anything less than the truth.

"I just don't want to hurt him again," Juliette looked away as Cadence grabbed a strand of her hair.

"And giving him up to someone else in the midst of you two reconciling won't hurt him?"

"Not as much as it would if I hold off," Juliette sniffed.

"But it'll hurt you..."

Juliette just shrugged. "It's what I deserve, don't you think?"

"No. I don't. Neither does he. You deserve to be happy and loved, just like the rest of us, Juliette. Stop being so hard on yourself. I mean...god, look at what the love between you and Avery had already created," Emily reached out and touched the baby's head. "This beautiful little girl. She ties you two together. That in itself shows that you are deserving."

Juliette paused, letting Emily's words sink in. "Perhaps you're right...I just don't trust myself not to screw up again. I want to be the woman he deserves...but every time I try..."

"You are the woman he deserves. At least he thinks so. Come on, tell me. Who put these doubts in your head like this?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes it does. It had to be someone that knows the both of you and don't want you and Avery together..."

"Okay...Layla stopped by last night."

"Layla Grant? She had left town, according to Avery..."

"She was on her way, but she stopped by. She apologized about going to the press about Jeff...then she told me not to hurt Avery again. That next time, I won't be so lucky. That he'll find a woman that's better than the both of us and she won't make the same mistakes that we had..."

"And now you're convinced that you'll end up hurting him. Juliette, forgive me...but that's bullshit. I mean...how would she know that you'd hurt him again?"

"Well, I've hurt him three times before. Each time, I was given another chance to do better and each time I mess it up. Who is to say that I won't do it again, huh?"

"You do. And so do I! So does Glenn, and Deacon and especially Avery! Look, you're not perfect. Neither is Avery and you both know that. You have both hurt each other...but you keep coming back because what you have is real! Don't sabotage it because of that jealous witch! Layla has no idea what she is talking about!"

Juliette sniffed, rubbing the tears out of her eyes. "I wish that I had your faith."

"I'll lend you some. Just don't go and do something stupid and ruin the best thing in your life...next to Cadence of course," Emily chuckled, as the baby smiled and giggled trying to stuff her mommy's hair into her mouth. "I think she's hungry. I'll go fix her a bottle."

...

As soon as breakfast was eaten, Emily decided to take Cadence to the park, giving Juliette and Avery what she thought was much needed time alone. Just by how quiet Juliette seemed through breakfast, Emily could tell that what Layla had said still weighed on her. Hopefully, the blond will open up to Avery and he could sit her straight again. She really would hate to see things between Juliette and Avery fall apart, just when they were about to be put back together again.

Avery had disappeared into the kitchen to deposit the used dishes into the dishwasher and returned with two fresh glasses of coffee.

"I figured that more coffee wouldn't hurt either of us," He replied, ready to sit down and talk. Juliette's silence had not escaped him. Something was wrong. The furtive looks that Emily kept giving Juliette and the way she insisted on taking Cadence to the park was enough proof of that. He was certain that whatever was on Juliette's mind, the assistant now knew of it.

"Thank you," Juliette accepted the large cup of coffee and took a sip. "Tea wasn't really doing it for me this morning."

Avery just smiled and sat next to her, not saying anything for the next few minutes, trying to read what kind of silence this was. Sometimes, just by being quiet, he could sense Juliette's mood. Right now, it felt pretty heavy. She wasn't happy about something, but he didn't know what. Was it him? He had thought that they were finally in a good place. What could have changed between now and the night they had spent awake, talking about their relationship?

"So...are we just going to sit here in silence, or do you want to talk about what's on your mind?" Avery went ahead and broke the silence. He would normally let her just open up to him on her own, but something told him that it would be best to make her talk to him.

Juliette looked at him, examining his face and committing all that she loved about him to memory. His beautiful, deep blue eyes that always seemed to pierce and read her soul and his mouth. How she loved his mouth. He had the most lovliest mouth that she had ever seen on a man and it created the brightest smiles that lit up those eyes like the sun. She didn't want to give them up...but she also knew that if she didn't...those beautiful eyes would be full of tears. She didn't want to be the reason for those tears anymore...

"Talk to me," He reached over and took her hand, his eyes urging her to talk to him, promising that there was nothing that they couldn't fix or work through.

Juliette sighed, feeling herself give in. She was just going to be truthful with him and let him make up his own mind. If he was smart, then he'd run away...far far away and find someone deserving of those eyes and that smile, and the love that she wanted to just drown in. "Layla stopped by last night...and she made me realize something..."

Avery's stomach dropped. What did Layla do now? What did she say to put Juliette in this mood and what did she hope to accomplish? He was almost afraid to ask. "What did she say?"

Juliette tore her eyes away from his, but her grip on his hand tightened, as if he'd disappear before she got what she had to say out. "She told me that she was leaving and not to hurt you. That next time, I won't be so lucky, that you'll find another woman that's better than the both of us and won't make the same mistakes..."

Avery frowned, his eyes darkening with anger at his ex. Why did she do that? Was she addicted to causing Juliette pain or something? He was so glad that she was gone now. Now she can stop causing grief. "I'm sorry Juliette. You shouldn't have had to deal with her...but she's gone now and..."

"It's not like she's wrong. I mean...I do keep hurting you...and you keep forgiving me and giving me chance after chance. Sooner or later, it'll be one time too many and you'll find someone new...someone better..."

"That's ridiculous. I mean...that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard," Avery shook his head.

"Is it really? I do keep hurting you Avery...over and over again and...I don't want to be the reason for your tears anymore. I don't want to hurt you anymore...but there's just something about me...and what if I can't help it what if no matter what I do...I'll end up hurting you again...I don't want to take that chance," She got to her feet, pulling out of his grasp so she could pace the floor. "I should just end it now before I hurt you worse than ever before. You deserve to be completely happy...and I...I can't give that to you...not for long. I'll mess us up again..."

Avery sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose before looking at her again with patient yet sad eyes. "Juliette..."

"Tell me that it isn't true! That you haven't continuously been hurt by me! That I'm not the one that causes our break ups."

Avery should have known that this would happen. That Layla would have a little bit more damage to do before fleeing town. He shouldn't have been so stupid and let her leave on her own. He should have driven her to the airport himself, just to avoid this. But there was nothing to be done about it now. Sighing, he walked over to Juliette and grabbed her shoulders, stopping her pacing.

"Stand still and listen to me, alright? Okay, sure you've hurt me. You were the reason behind our breaking up each and everytime. But that is in the past...and for the record, I did my fair share amount of hurting you as well..."

"Only in response to what I had done..."

"Doesn't matter. I had still hurt you. As for you doing it again...well of course you will. You're hurman, Juliette and so am I. We'll both hurt each other again, it's inevitable."

"What happened to when you love someone, you rather die than to hurt them?"

Avery winced at his own words being thrown back at him, but he deserved it. It had all been a part of the lessons he had learned. "Well that's true. I rather die than to hurt you because I love you so much and I know it's the same for you. But back then, I was naive and had this...vision of perfection...I had placed you on this pedistal and...well I was wrong to do that...just like I was wrong to expect you not to make mistakes. We love each other...we rather die than to hurt each other...but because we're human...we're going to hurt each other. Mistakes will be made. What matters is that we learn from those mistakes and we keep communication open, so when we do hurt each other, and we will. We can't pretend that we won't...we can work through it instead of letting things fester and implode."

Juliette sobbed. "I don't want to hurt you anymore. I...but I will and it kills me...that's why I was thinking of letting you go...because I rather die than be the one to hurt you again..."

Avery felt his heart ache at her tears as he wrapped her in his arms and held her close. "Juliette...nothing can hurt more than you pulling away from me just when we're getting what we had back. Look, I know what this is. It's self sabotage and I had promised us both that I wouldn't let you and I'm keeping that promise, starting now. I love you and I'm not going to walk away. Never again."

"Even if it's the best thing to do?"

"It'll never be the best thing to do. Not for me and not for you."

Juliette sniffed and hugged him back, accepting his decision. She had tried to let him go...okay, not very hard, but she did try, but Avery wanted to stay and she didn't have the strength to fight him on that. She'll just have to work hard on not hurting him and being the girlfriend that he deserved.

"I love you, Avery..."

"I love you too. Nothing can or ever will change that."


	8. Chapter 8

It was a Wednesday. Juliette had just finished her daily work out. She had not done all she needed to do to get rid of the baby weight and now that she had a man to impress once again, she wanted to do more to get down to the weight she was before Cadence. Of course, Avery said that he loved her curves, no matter what. But still, she missed fitting into some of her nicer dresses that she could barely squeeze into these days.

She sighed as she looked into the mirror, noticing just too much weight she needed to lose. Some people would say that she didn't look too bad, but by country diva measures, she looked a mess. She had gained and needed to lose at least fifteen pounds. The ringing of her cell brought her out of her thoughts of fitness. She grabbed her cell and smiled at the picture of Avery in the window.

"Hey there," She answered the phone. She hadn't been expecting his call, but that didn't matter. Some people she made time for, no matter what. Avery was one of those people. She winced at her past behavior, how she'd ignore his calls and texts, all because she was afraid to face her life. But those dark days were over, thank god.

"Hey. I was just leaving Highway 65, picking up my last paycheck for Layla's album and ended up acepting an invitation for you, me, and Cadence to join Rayna, Deacon, and the girls for dinner at their place. Is that okay?"

"Um...sure. That would be fine. I've been meaning to catch up with Rayna and check up on Maddie anyway," Juliette blinked, a bit surprised that Avery had accepted the invitation without checking with her first, but waving it off, since she knew that it wasn't done purposefully and he was calling now to make sure.

"I'm sorry for accepting like that...I was kind of taken off guard...and I knew that you'd want a real update on how things are going with Rayna and Deacon and especially Maddie...," Avery apologized, probably sensing her shock.

"It's alright. I didn't have anything else planned really. Too be honest, this is nice. It'll be our first real outing as a family."

"Hey you're right," Avery grinned. He hadn't really thought of it that way before. "I kind of like that."

"Me too," Juliette smiled, her voice softening some. "Are we really becoming a family now?"

"It looks like we're getting there."

"Good because I love her. I love you...I love what we have...I promise not to mess it up again..."

"Juliette..."

"I know, I know. No promises. Just one day at a time."

"That's right. I love you too..."

"So when is dinner?"

"I'll pick you up at six. Will that be okay?"

"That will be perfect. I'll see you then," Juliette smiled before hanging up with a sigh. Saying goodbye was getting harder and harder to do. She wanted to ask him to move back in so badly...but something told her that it was too soon. To wait and let their relationship strengthen. After all, absence makes the heart grown fonder, right? But she had been absent for way too long...which was something that she was going to rectify.

...

Juliette stared at her reflection in the mirror, tempted to change once again. Avery was going to be at her doorstep any minute and the black knee length dress...it had seemed like the right thing just a few minutes ago...but now...it looked like the worse thing that she could wear. She was going to have dinner with friends, not to a funeral!

Grumbling to herself, she tore the dress off of her and took out a blue and white sundress that was light weight and complimented her eyes. Yes, she liked this. It was cool, hid the curves that she didn't want to show and brought attention to her eyes. Avery would love her in this.

She blushed, realizing that her decision of what to wear really did hang on what her former husband liked. He had always complimented her on her eyes. She quickly brushed her hair until it shined like spun gold and lightly applied some eye shadow, blush, and lip gloss and slipped on white cowboy boots to complete the look. Looking into the mirror, she had to smile. There was the Juliette Barnes that she knew and loved. Avery wasn't going to know what hit him.

As if summoned by her thoughts, the doorbell chimed, announcing that her escort had arrived. Taking one last look into the mirror, Juliette rushed to the door and opened it to Avery, who wore a simple blue dress shirt, with what looked to be some new denim jeans and his favorite cowboy boots. His black hair brushed his shoulders, but appeared to be combed back from his face. His eyes were as bright and as deep as ever and his smile lit up the room.

In his arms was their daughter, who was dressed in a blue sundress that seemed to match Juliette's with white sandles on her little feet. A smile that matched her daddy's made the room even brighter.

"You look great," Avery complimented, his eyes looking her up and down in one glance.

"You both look great as well, and look! Cadence and I match," Juliette giggled, taking her daughter's hand in her own. "You're giving momma a run for her money, aren't you?"

"It's a tie. You both are gorgeous."

Juliette just smiled brightly, her heart beating rapidly in her chest. She had never felt this...fulfilled before. Yes, her and Avery still had a ways to go, but this perfect baby...she was theirs. She was made of their love and binded them together in a way that they'll never be binded to anyone else. It killed her that she had wasted so much time that could have been spent with both Avery and their daughter, but she was going to work hard on making it up to both of them.

"So do you have everything? Is there anything else you have to do to complete the ritual of becoming Juliette Barnes?" Avery chuckled.

"I'm all ready. Lead the way," Juliette simply smiled, giving him a quick kiss before following him to the waiting car.

...

Rayna and Deacon were awaiting their arrival and welcomed them in with hugs and handshakes. Daphne and Maddie all rushed to Juliette, who had Cadence in her arms and began cooing over the baby.

"Girls, give Juliette space to breathe," Rayna laughed, feeling happy and content now that her own family was back together. Maddie was still emancipated...there was nothing that she could do to change that, but at least now her daughter was back home and willing to listen to her and her husband was sober and helping her pick up the pieces of their family and put it back again. Looking at the girl that had once been her rival, she felt happy and proud. Juliette was looking well now a days. She seemed happy and content and she knew that Avery and their daughter had a lot to do with that.

"Make yourselves at home you two," Deacon took Avery's jacket and hung it in the hall closet. "I grilled, so we're gonna have a nice dinner tonight. Just let me go get everything inside here..."

"I'll help," Juliette offered, just as Maddie took Cadence out of her arms.

"Oh no, sugar. You don't have to do that, I've got it," Deacon rejected, but Juliette wasn't about to take no for an answer.

"I insist," she smiled, following him out to the back, where the grill was waiting.

Juliette picked up a platter and held it while Deacon piled the steaks he had on the grill onto the dish.

"So, how is everything going now that you are out of rehab? Is everything returning to normal?" Deacon asked.

"Just about. I'm kind of taking a break from touring and recording and just concentrating on my personal relationships these days..."

"Avery?"

"How did you guess?" Juliette smiled, this time feeling at ease with talking about the man she loved.

"You two seem happy together. In fact, this is the happiest I've seen that young man in a long while."

"Really?" Juliette sighed, looking through the glass door, where Avery was following Rayna into the kitchen. "I know I've treated him bad. I've broken his heart a thousand times...yet he's willing to give me another chance. I know I'm lucky. I'm just worried...what if..."

"You screw it up all over again?" Deacon guessed.

Juliette looked at him and nodded, knowing that if anyone could understand his fears, it would be Deacon. They seemed to be kindred spirits in a way. Juliette knew that if she ever needed someone to really give it to her straight and really understand her, it was Deacon Clayborne.

Deacon gave her a gentle smile. "Let me tell you, I am well familar with that voice in your head telling you that you're not good enough. That you'll hurt him, even if you don't mean to. That will lead you down a bad road. It's done that to me a number of times with Rayna. But listen to me when I say, you have to ignore it. Don't listen to it. If you do, then you will lose him, just like I had lost Rayna a number of times already. You and I...we always self destruct and leave the ones we love to pick up the pieces until they feel that they can't do it anymore. Then they walk away, taking a piece of our souls with them. Then we get them back, rinse and repeat."

"It's like a cycle..."

"Exactly. But it doesn't have to be. You can break it, Juliette. When you feel the urge destruct...don't. Just...do something else. Talk to Avery...if you feel like you can't do that, talk to me and Rayna. We're always here in your corner. But you have a chance here that I didn't get. A chance to raise your little girl and watch her grow, along side the man you love. You take that chance and you hold on tight and ignore that voice that tells you that you don't deserve it, that you're gonna mess it up. Because that voice is a liar. Do you understand me?"

Juliette felt a tear slide from her eyes as she nodded her head, grateful beyond words to this man that had been in her shoes...that still was but was just coming out on the light side of the tunnel. He read her like a book and gave her advice that she so desperately needed.

"I needed to hear that..."

"I know. I need to hear it at times too. How about this...I don't really believe in AA anymore. I think the whole sponsor thing can be nothing but trouble. But...I am willing to be yours...if you be mine. We'll pull each other back from the brink when need be."

Juliette laughed, kind of liking the idea. Sometimes, there really was no one else that understood her like Deacon and vice versa. They seemed to have come from the same place. Maybe, with help from each other, they may just end up surviving their harmful urges and keep the ones they love.

"I'd like that."

Deacon wrapped an arm around the young singer and gave her a tight hug, happy that he was able to help Juliette and that he would be able to do so. Maybe by helping her, he was helping himself.

...

Avery was helping Rayna set the table since Maddie and Daphne were playing with the giggling Cadence. Watching his daughter play with the girls made him feel warm inside. It was like he just knew that everything was going to turn out alright.

"So, you and Juliette seem happy," Rayna smiled, taking the plates of the cupboard.

"We are. I feel like we're getting to a place where we trust each other again. The love...it's always been there...but the trust..."

"Was a lot harder," Rayna nodded, understanding all too well.

"Yeah. Not only from my end either. She seems to have trouble trusting herself."

"I had the same trouble with Deacon. He wouldn't trust himself, and then he'd make the wrong decision and then we'd be back to square one...we almost imploded again this time around."

"Really? How did you keep from falling apart?"

"I realized that it was up to me. He was ready to walk away and used to be that I would let him. It was either him walking, or me and I realized that this time it would all be on me...so I refused to let it be my choice. I stood there I refused to let him walk away from what we had and to actually work on our problems. Yes, it took a relationship counselor, but it kept us afloat. It kept communication open and we came out at the other end of the dark tunnel together and stronger than ever. I didn't let him self sabotage this time."

Avery nodded, seeing himself in Rayna. Juliette did self sabotage and it always nearly destroyed them and he was always the one walking away. Just talking to Rayna, he knew that this time, he was right to refuse to walk away this time. To hold on, no matter what and see them through the rough patches, because...Juliette...she was worth it. He had never loved anyone like he loved her and he knew that he probably never would again.

"I have to start trusting her again..."

"Do you?"

Did he? Did he really trust Juliette? That was the million dollar question and right now...he didn't really have the answer. He trusted that she loved him. Obviously, that had never changed. They always came back together because of that love. But did he trust her to do the right thing by him and Cadence? The answer should be yes...it had to be yes, but right now...he didn't know. He just knew that he wanted to. More than anything...

"I want to..."

"But it'll take time. It took time for me and Deacon too...but we got there. So will you. I have faith in you two," Rayna gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.

"Thank you, Rayna. I think I really needed to hear that," Avery smiled, somehow feeling lighter already. He turned his head as the back door opened and Juliette followed Deacon in with a platter of grilled steaks. She looked up and met his eyes and they both smiled, the future now seeming brighter than ever for the both of them.


	9. Chapter 9

Avery followed Juliette into her house with Cadence in his arms. The dinner with Rayna and Deacon had been a success. Juliette had loved just sitting in a warm, family atmosphere and catching up with Rayna and her girls while Avery and Deacon caught up with each other and shared news about Mississippi. It was a wonderful evening, but like all good things, it came to an end and now Avery and Juliette were ready to put their daughter down for the night.

"I appreciate you letting me have her tonight. I've missed so much time with her, I know it'll never be enough to make up for what I've missed but...," Juliette rambled, leading the way up to the nursery.

"Every little bit counts," Avery smiled. "Well, it's not a problem. I want her to be used to being here just as much as she's used to being at Gunnar's."

"Why do you keep calling it Gunnar's? I mean...it's your home too...yours and Cadence's right?"

Avery blushed and pushed his long hair out of his eyes. Really, he didn't know why he called it that. Yes, it was home. Gunnar had made it very clear that as long as he and Cadence needed a place, his door was opened, but it kind of didn't feel like home. Not in his heart. He couldn't really explain why. It wasn't like Juliette's place, that really had begun to feel like home before everything had fallen apart.

"I don't know. Gunnar, he's great. He never set a time limit or anything, but...I never really planned for his place to be permanent for me and Cadence. I always thought we'd find a place of our own sooner or later."

Juliette took the sleeping baby out of his arms and placed her in the waiting baby bed and sighed, looking down at her as she slept. She was the most beautiful thing in her life. Her and Avery.

"I meant what I had told Emily that one time. If you needed anything...anything at all, even your own place, I would have been happy to pay for it."

"I know. But I couldn't accept it at the time. I...I was aiming for a clean break. I wanted...no I needed to know that I could take care of Cadence on my own without any help from you...or my parents."

Juliette winced at the mention of his parents. His mother was nice, but she knew for a fact that his father didn't like her much. The man was probably full of I told you so when Avery had fled Nashville when everything was first beginning to fall apart. "I bet they just love me now a days, huh?"

"Well...okay, they're not your biggest fans at the moment. But I haven't really talked to them about you in a while."

"Well, if someone had done to Cadence what I did to you...I would definitely hate them."

"Hey, you had an excuse. You were sick. I knew that. I should have been more patient and understanding..."

"No, Avery. You had Cadence to think about. You had to put her needs first and I'm glad that you did. You were as patient and understanding as I would allow you to be and I wasn't allowing much of any of that into my life at the time. You had every right to take our daughter and leave. I messed up and now I'll have to deal with the consequences, your parents bad feelings towards me is one of those consequences."

With Cadence now in bed, Avery was able to pull Juliette into his arms in a warm embrace. "Well, just so you know, those bad feelings don't extend to me. In fact, I only have good feelings about you now...very good feelings."

"Really?" She smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck, smiling up into his eyes.

"Really."

Their lips met in a deep, tender kiss and their lips curved into gentle happy smiles as the kiss ended. Juliette happily sighed, for the first time feeling content. This has been what she had wanted and needed since her return from rehab. Both Avery and Cadence back in her life. Their family back together, the way they should have always been.

"Why don't you stay here tonight?" Juliette smiled, pressing her cheek against his shoulder, enjoying just being in his arms. "That way Cadence will still see you in the morning and so will I."

"I'm tempted to," Avery sighed with a little hesitation. After all, they were supposed to be taking it slow. What did it mean if he stayed another night there?

"You should. I have plenty of room and I can cook for you in the morning. I haven't cooked you a good meal in a while."

Avery laughed. When he first came to Nashville, if someone had told him that Juliette Barnes would be offering to cook him breakfast, he would have thought them insane. It was funny how life had ended up for him. He had come here to make it big in the music industry, to be just as big of a star as Juliette...but now here he was, with the title of Juliette's baby daddy, his career not at all where he thought it would be, and being offered breakfast by one of country's biggest stars.

But she wasn't Country's biggest star to him...not anymore. Now she was only Juliette. Mother of his child. Love of his life. He knew her in ways that the world never would, just like she knew him like no one, not even Scarlett knew him.

"Okay...I will. I'll stay."

Juliette's smile brightened even more and she leaned up to claim his lips once again, happy that she wouldn't have to say goodbye to him just yet.

Feeling his body responding to the proximity of hers, Avery pulled away, his cheeks a slight red. "I suppose we better stop before we end up somewhere we aren't planning to be..."

"Hmm...or maybe we shouldn't. Sometime it's good to be impulsive," Juliette lustfully sighed, her desire for him evident in her eyes, in her voice, and in the way she was pressed up against him, making it hard for him to keep a clear head.

"Juliette...," He tried one last time to slow things down, but one look in her eyes wiped away all of his resolve.

"Avery..."

"Protection?"

"Your side of the bed as always," She giggled as she was suddenly swept off her feet and carried into what had been their bedroom. The sound of the bedroom door shutting was the last sound she was aware of outside of their own passion filled noises as they made love for the first time since their reunion.

...

She laid in his arms, her head pillowed on his chest, their fingers linked as they came down from the euphoric haze that had filled their heads, making them oblivious to the outside world. Now the world was coming back and Juliette could feel the tears prickling her eyes, knowing that this couldn't last. It was a moment that she wanted to last forever, one she knew that never would. Sooner or later, they would have to leave the bed, the room, even the house.

Avery frowned, feeling the wetness from her tears. "What's wrong?"

Juliette gave a sad smile. "This. I don't want this moment to end. Right now, I feel so...safe and secure. I feel like I'm home."

Avery sighed, tightening his embrace. This had been so unplanned. When she had invited him to stay the night, he had been planning to stay in the guest room...but feelings and desire took over and he just couldn't stop the train from going off the track. Now, laying here, he had to admit...he didn't want it to end either. For the first time in forever, he felt like had come home. He didn't know how he was ever going to leave the house, much less the bed.

"I feel the same way."

Juliette bit her lip, knowing that they were again going too fast...but she couldn't help herself. She loved him so much. Saying goodbye was becoming harder and harder to do, and now...after they've made love...she didn't even know if it was possible. She couldn't just let him disappear into the morning again...not without asking...

"Avery...why not just come home, then? I love you, you love me...we have a beautiful daughter and...it already feels like we're a family again. Why waste anymore time when we can just be where we always should have been?"

Avery sighed. In a way, he agreed with Juliette. It did feel like they were wasting time tip-toeing around each other when they were already a family to begin with. It felt like they were just torturing each other...but still he was afraid that if he moved too fast, it would all fall apart again and he wouldn't be able to take it this time. But still...he didn't think he was even capable of refusing her request.

"I don't know...it feels like we're going too fast again..."

"But it feels so wrong to be living apart still. I mean...what good is it doing us living in separate spaces? What good are we doing Cadence? It'll confuse her to see her parents together...yet not together, don't you think? Wouldn't it be best for her emotionally if we lived together in the same house so she won't be moved so much?"

"You make a good argument, baby...but..."

"Listen, it's not like I'm saying that we have to get remarried right away...if at all. I'm not even saying that we have to share the same room...even though that has some great perks, but it's not a requirement...hey, we can even get a new place...somewhere where there's no bad memories...where we can really start anew."

"Juliette...I want to..."

"Well then do it, baby. Come home. Let's not say goodbye anymore..."

Juliette did make a good argument. It would be good for Cadence. It may even be good for them...but he still felt that they were moving too fast...that they needed to slow down somewhere. "Look...I want to...but I feel like we're still going too fast. If I move back in with you...we need to set boundaries. Like...we don't share a room...even if we end up like this...that's fine...but we keep our rooms separate for now."

Juliette's eyes widened, realizing that Avery was giving in...sort of. "Really?"

"Really. And what you said about a new place...that sounds like a good idea too...but let's see how living here works first..."

Juliette couldn't help her tears of happiness. She tightened her hold on him and kissed his chest. "Thank you..."

Avery smiled and kissed her soft golden hair. "No, thank you. You know, Gunnar and Will are going to hate to see Cadence go. I think she's the only reason they had let me stay for so long."

Juliette just laughed. "They're allowed to see her whenever they want. A girl needs a good pair of Uncles to spoil her rotten."

"Oh they've already done that," Avery laughed. "You two will come help me pack. Give the guys and Scarlett a chance to say goodbye."

"Scarlett?" Juliette arched a brow, curious about that development.

"Oh yeah, we aren't the only ones getting back together. Scarlett and Gunnar had finally stopped denying their feelings and are now back together. She's now a mainstay at the house. She'll probably take my old room...that is if she doesn't want to stay with Gunnar."

Juliette found herself happy for them. It made her feel good that she and Avery weren't the only ones finding their way back together. "I noticed that Kevin was at my welcome home party..."

"Oh yeah, he and Will are back together as well. It seems like we're all getting back to where we belong, huh?"

"It does. I'm happy for them...for all of us. It's been a tough year, but we've survived."

Avery looked down at her and felt himself fall for that happy serene smile all over again. People only saw the superstar Juliette. He was one of the few to see this Juliette. The Juliette who was satisfied with her life and family and happy for her friends. The Juliette that lived for their daughter's smiles. The Juliette that was in his arms now and who he was never going to let go of again.


	10. Chapter 10

Avery led the way into Gunnar's house. Juliette followed behind him with a babbling Cadence snuggled in her arms. She kissed the baby's plump cheek as they entered to find Gunnar and Scarlett coming down the stairs.

"Hey there you are," Gunnar greeted. His eyes widened when he saw Juliette following behind with Cadence. "With Juliette! Hey Juliette, we haven't seen you since the party."

She smiled happily, feeling as if the weight of the world was no longer on her shoulders. Why would it be? Avery and Cadence were coming home! "Hey. It's good to see you and Scarlett again. Avery told me that you two are back together. Congratulations. Avery and I are back together as well."

Gunnar couldn't help but be amused. This was a different Juliette Barnes from what he was used to. This was a happy woman. A woman that was getting everything that she ever wanted. Not a woman who had just recovered from a plane crash, lost the Oscar, and had just returned from rehab. This Juliette was bright and happy. He had to admit, he liked this Juliette a lot. He glanced at Avery who just had a small smile of his own.

"So what do we owe the pleasure?" Gunnar grinned, looking at his girlfriend, then Avery and then Juliette and Cadence.

Avery cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck, not sure how this news was going to be taken. They had been living here for so long and Scarlett, Gunnar, and Will have grown attached to Cadence and she to them. It almost broke his heart to move out and away from the only semblance to a family that Cadence had known, even though the family he hoped to form with Juliette would be considered more appropriate by society, but still he considered the people in this house his and Cadence's family. They had all been there since her birth practically.

"Well, Juliette and I discussed it last night and we decided that Cadence and I should move back in with her. We're still taking things slowly...I'll be sleeping in a different room...but it'd be less confusing for Cadence if mommy and daddy lived together. Plus, with me staying the night and her being over at Juliette's all the time anyway, why not?" Avery quickly explained, just as Will came out of the kitchen carrying a mug of coffee.

"You and Cadence are leaving?" The cowboy frowned. Out of all of his friends, Will seemed to have formed a closer bond with Cadence. When Avery was asleep or was too far away when the baby cried, Will was there to rock her back to sleep. Not to mention all the times Avery had caught will singing to her with his guitar or just carrying her in his arms, cuddling her. Uncle Will was probably her favorite person next to mommy and daddy.

Avery felt especially bad for parting the two. "Um...yeah. But you know, we'll be over for a visit all the time and you guys are always welcomed to come visit her. You're her family. We would never take her out of your lives completely."

"Yeah, I was telling Avery how glad I am that you all are a part of her life. A girl needs some uncles and aunts to spoil her rotten. Plus...it means a lot that you guys were here to take care of her and love her when I...couldn't," Juliette blinked back the tears that always threatened when she thought about that time when she had been too deep into her depression to be a proper mother and wife. If it hadn't been for the people in this room..."You took care of them, when I couldn't..."

"Hey, now. No tears. That's all in the past and you got better," Avery placed a comforting hand on her arm.

"I know...it's just...growing up the way I did...I never thought that I'd have anybody. To know that my baby girl will never have to know that...that there will always be someone to love her...it means a lot to me."

"Well, it's not like we didn't benefit from having her here. I mean...this little lady had been the silver lining in this house. She brought a whole lot of happiness and joy," Will smiled. "With the year I had, I don't know what I would have done with out my yellow rose, here."

"I'll go up and pack...I'll leave you and Cadence down here...give everyone a chance to say goodbye," Avery explained, before darting up the stairs, not noticing Gunnar and Scarlett following him, leaving Will alone with Juliette and the baby.

Juliette was not surprised when Cadence suddenly held her arms out to Will, wanting him to take her. "I guess she wants to see her Uncle Will," Juliette smiled, handing the baby over to the singer.

"Ah, we just have a special understanding, don't we darling," Will grinned, happily taking the baby. He held her close, giving her a hug. "So you're moving in with mommy, huh? Well don't think you won't be seeing your Uncle Will anymore. I'll be coming by often specifically to see his favorite girl."

Cadence just laughed and clapped her hands in response.

Will smiled at Juliette. "If you and Avery ever need a babysitter or just a break, our door is always opened. Don't be shy now."

"Thanks. We'll be taking you up on that offer," Juliette laughed already beginning to relax. These were Avery's friends. She was beginning to realize that made them her friends as well. Having friends was something that she was just beginning to get used to.

Meanwhile, up in what was now the room he and Cadence had one occupied, Avery dragged out his bags and began to pack his and Cadence's belongings. He felt a little sad about leaving. For a good year this place had been his home. There were memories of late night feedings, jam sessions, and emotional support, both given and taken. The people in this house, they meant more to him than he could probably express. He was seriously going to miss seeing them every day.

"Dude, are you for real? Are you really moving in with Juliette?" Gunnar entered the room, Scarlett right behind him, her own eyes telling of her concern for her former boyfriend turned friend.

"That's the plan," Avery answered, not looking up from his work.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean...you guys just got back together...," it wasn't that Gunnar didn't want Avery to move in with Juliette. He was rooting for them, really. He was just concerned that maybe they were moving too fast. He didn't want to see everything fall apart again.

"Yes, you two just got back together. I thought that you were taking it slow," Scarlett also replied.

"We are taking it slow. We won't be sharing a room...even though last night..."

"You slept with her!" Scarlett gasped, not really shocked. It was going to happen eventually.

"Made love is more like it," Avery blushed. "But yeah...we did...and...well we just feel like it's time to take it a little further. Plus this will be easier on Cadence. She won't be going between here and Juliette's anymore..."

"But...you don't have to move out if you don't want to. I mean...it's not me, is it? Me staying here with Gunnar, because if it is...," Scarlett began, just to be interrupted by Avery's laugh.

"Scarlett, why would I be bothered by you two? Really, I am happy that you two have stopped tip toeing around each other and are a couple again. You two are great together. Just like Juliette and I are great together. We both found who we are supposed to be with and...it's time that we go be with them. Besides, this opens up room for you to move in and have your own space. Or for Kevin to move in..."

"We're just concerned about you, man. We don't want you rushing into something that will have you drunk and touching weird girls with insane boyfriend's breasts again," Gunnar snorted, remembering the time that he and Scarlett had to rescue Avery from a beat down from a jealous boyfriend.

Avery rolled his eyes. "You will never let me live that down will you?"

Gunnar just grinned. "Nope. In fact, does Juliette know about that? I bet she'd get a laugh..."

"Don't you dare!" Avery grabbed his friend's arm. He smiled, feeling really sad now. "I sure am going to miss seeing your ugly face every day."

"The same goes here. I'm going to miss you. We all are."

"You mean you're going to miss Cadence," Avery laughed.

"Well, mainly Cadence. But we'll miss you too," Scarlett also laughed, giving her friend a hug. "You take care and if you need us for anything at all..."

"You know where to find us," Gunnar smiled giving Avery a hug after Scarlett was finished.

"I do. And you two and Will too are welcomed to come see us anytime. Like Juliette said, Cadence needs aunts and uncles to spoil her. And you're family. I want you to remain a big part of Cadence's life."

"Well I guess that's settled," Gunnar chuckled, also feeling sad to see Avery go, but at the same time he was looking forward to what this could mean for Scarlett and himself.

One hour later, everything was packed and ready to go. Juliette and Avery stood side by side and watched as their friends said good bye to their smiling daughter. It broke their hearts to have to separate the baby from the only home she's ever known, but they knew that this wasn't really goodbye and it was the start of a new beginning for their family. A beginning that this time will stick.

...

Juliette collapsed onto her couch as they finally returned home. She still had Cadence in her arms while Avery carried their bags into the house. He looked around at the familar surroundings, taking it all in. This was it. After all this time, he and Cadence were finally home.

"I honestly didn't know that we had all this stuff," he looked at the four bags he had packed. When they had moved into Gunnar's house, he only had two bags. But Cadence had been barely a newborn then, not to mention that the guys and Scarlett were always buying the baby something so she had accumulated a lot of stuff, as well as the purchases Avery had made for himself.

Juliette just laughed and rubbed noses with the baby. "Daddy, that is what having a girl is all about. We accumulate things. Get used to it."

"Oh god, you're right," Avery laughed, depositing the bags onto the floor before joining his girls on the couch. "It's only just begun."

"Right now it's toys and baby clothes. Sixteen years from now it will be make up and boys."

"Um, make up perhaps. But boys? Not until I'm dead and buried," Avery winked.

Juliette laughed. "You wish. We girls have our ways."

"Well just as long as daddy will always be number one, I'm happy," Avery gently carressed his daughter's cheek, again taken by how pretty she was. Sometimes he couldn't believe that he had a hand in making her. She was the best thing he had ever done, even better than music.

"Oh that goes without saying already. I can already tell that she's a daddy's girl," Juliette smiled, noticing how Cadence's eyes seemed to be stuck on Avery. Eyes that matched his. "She looks so much like you."

"You think so?"

"Yeah, she has your eyes and your mouth as well as your smile...does that mean that she's going to get her attitude from me?"

"Daddy's little diva," Avery chuckled, earning a playful slap from Juliette.

"I'm not that bad...okay, maybe I was at first."

"Nah, the whole diva act was just that. An act. I know it and so does everyone else that's close to you."

"I'd apologize again for being the diva all those months ago...but I think you're sick of me apologizing."

"It was part of you coping with the post partum depression. I get it. The important thing now is that you're better now...or doing better anyway. You're not that person anymore..."

"I didn't even know who that person was to be honest..."

"Well it doesn't matter. Not anymore. You're back and so are we. We're not going anywhere. We're home Juliette."

She smiled and touched his cheek, feeling happy and relaxed. "Welcome home, Avery."

He smiled before leaning in to claim her lips in a warm kiss. Gunnar's place had never felt like home, because this was where he had always belonged. Here in Juliette's arms with their baby girl. Finally they were a family unit and he was going to make sure that they remained that way.


	11. Chapter 11

Juliette stood in the nursery of her house, glaring at the yellow chair. She had been relieved to find it gone when she had returned home from rehab, but now it was back in all it's ugly, clashing with the decor, glory. Avery must have taken it with him when he had left and now here it was, back again. Like a bad penny.

"I think that does it. We're all unpacked and moved in," Avery grinned, carrying Cadence into the nursery, ready to put her down for her nap. His smile turned into a nervous one when he saw Juliette glaring at his favorite chair that he had dragged with him from his apartment, to Juliette's when he had moved in the first time, and then to Gunnar's, now back to Juliette's. "I know you hated it, but Cadence loves it and it was originally in the nursery anyway...I didn't think you'd mind."

"I...I don't. I don't mind. I had just...forgotten about how ugly it is," Juliette shook her head. "Are you sure she wouldn't like a rocking chair instead?"

"Cadence loves this chair," Avery grinned, plopping down in it with their giggling daughter in his arms.

Juliette inwardly sighed. She really hated that chair. She had been relieved that it had been gone from her house. But as long as it meant keeping Avery and Cadence with her, she'll learn to accept it once again. "Fine. But it stays in this room. Even if we move."

"Okay by me," Avery shrugged, preoccupied with making funny faces for the baby's amusement.

Juliette couldn't help but laugh and shake her head. If she wasn't careful, she'll end up wrapped around his finger, just as they both were wrapped around Cadence's.

...

Avery frowned, starring at the poster of Juliette and Noah West in a romantic position hanging up in the studio. No, it wasn't staring. It was glaring. He was glaring at the poster. Did she have to have that one hanging up? Surely, there must be a poster without that jerk gracing it, right?

"Hey baby," Juliette walked in, placing a kiss on his cheek as she headed for the recording equipment. "Do you have something to work on today? I was thinking that we can work on our song some more."

"Don't you have a poster without him on it?" Avery crossed his arms, his eyes never leaving the poster.

Juliette blinked at the question. Where had that come from? What was he talking about? She followed his gaze then laughed. "Oh my god, are you jealous of that poster?"

Avery tore his eyes away to look at his laughing girlfriend. He blushed in embarrassment. "Um...of course not. You're with me, not him. Why should I be jealous? I was just wondering..."

"That's right. I am with you and not him. He was way too...boring for me anyway."

"Really? You seemed to enjoy his company when he was here."

"And I had no idea you were jealous," Juliette giggled, somehow feeling vindicated. She was glad that he had been jealous about Noah when he had been with Layla. It was proof that he had loved her all along.

"Okay, okay. I was jealous. I had never stopped loving you, even when I was trying my best to get over you," Avery admitted. "Why wouldn't I be? He was handsome, had perfect hair, perfect teeth, could cook, and was a big movie star."

"You're right. He was all of those things. A real dreamboat. Wanted by every woman in America. But he wasn't you. He wasn't the one I wanted. You were...when he was here...all I could think about was you and you being with her. Yeah, Noah had everything going for him, but for one thing. He wasn't you."

Avery sighed, feeling foolish. He should know better than to be jealous of the guy. Especially when he had been rejected not once, but twice by the woman in question. "Now I feel ridiculous."

"Don't. I'm the last person who should get mad about jealousy. Remember how I was jealous about Scarlett?"

Avery nodded then grinned. "And Sadie. That one was really crazy. Stalking me, then tearing down all those tents..."

"Oh my god!" Juliette laughed, hiding her face with her hands in embarrassment. "I call that one pregnancy brain!"

"No, that was Jealous Juliette," Avery chuckled.

"Even when I was deep in depression...I accused Emily of having an affair with you after seeing those pictures of you and her picnicing with Cadence. I still feel awful about that one," Juliette sighed, realizing that of the two of them, she was the most jealous one. But she had reason, didn't she? Avery was handsome and kind, and talented and he had this charisma...women liked him. Then there was the aspect of somehow competing with her that some women got off on...of course she would be jealous. Layla was proof that there were women out there willing to take him from her.

"You know, you have no reason to be jealous either. Even when I try to move on and get over you...I can't. When you're with other guys, I want to break their legs, even when I don't have a right to. You're it for me, Juliette. There's no other woman for me, but you. We were made for each other."

"You know, it's almost unfair. You know of all my embarrassing jealousy moments. I know nothing of yours," Juliette giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Guess that proves what a perfect guy you are."

Avery kissed her back, feeling out of sorts. It wasn't fair for him to know all the moments where she was embarrassed and she knew none of his. He had to come clean. All the way clean. "I am far from perfect. Scarlett and our friends from Mississippi and even Gunnar could tell you that."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I had to take some hard knocks before I got to this point. And still, even now I make mistakes. Layla being one of them."

"Well we know that Layla was a mistake, but what of the other ones that Scarlett and Gunnar are privy to," Juliette walked over to the couch she had set up and sat down, patting the spot next to her.

Avery laughed and rolled his eyes. "I don't know. All of it seems like a million years ago."

"Well, I have time. Tell me what you remember."

Avery sat next to her, not really looking forward to discussing himself pre-Juliette. He hadn't been a very good person back then. In fact, he was surprised that someone like Scarlett hadn't sent him packing the moment they had said hello. He had learned so much here in Nashville, about becoming a better person, a better friend, and a better boyfriend.

"Well...alright. For one...I wasn't a very good person. You wouldn't have liked me when Scarlett and I first came to town."

"So you two were together before?"

Avery nodded. "We met in at University...we were both music majors and realized just how much we had in common. I even went home with her on Thanksgiving and Christmas a few times. We both decided that University wasn't working for us so, we packed up our things, along with a few other friends of mine, and came to music city. I was head of a band and I had aspirations of making it big. I had such a big ego back then...

"I had my band and Scarlett had the blue bird. Everything was perfect. That was until Gunnar came along and encouraged her to start writing and singing...invading my turf you can say. You can also say that I didn't appreciate it. I mean...well like I said, I wasn't a very nice person back then. Kind of a narcissist to be honest..."

"Like me."

"No, not like you. You care about the people surrounding you...your friends and people you consider your family. Me on the other hand...would have done anything to reach the big time...even betray the people closest to me..."

Juliette frowned. "Now I can't picture that. I mean...I've seen you with Scarlett and your other friends...you'd never do anything to hurt them. Not purposely..."

"I was a different person then. I...I didn't consider the pain my actions would cause the people I cared about. Not until it was too late and I lost them. Well, nearly all of them. Scarlett forgave me in the end. She saw that I had changed..."

"And the others?"

"I don't know. I've been too afraid to even approach the guy who had been my best friend and guitarist of the band after the big blow up. There was a time we had done everything together...told each other everything...but I ruined that," Avery sighed, staring at his hands, feeling horrible how he had treated his friends back then. He hadn't realized what he had lost until he had seen Scarlett on stage with them making music.

"Well, how do you know if he'll forgive you if you don't talk to him? Give him the same chance to see that you're not the same person that Scarlett had?"

Avery looked away, his mind processing what Juliette had just said. Maybe she had a point. Maybe he should get over his fear of talking to JT. See if their friendship could be rekindled if not salvaged. At least let him know how sorry he was about how he had behaved and that he took full responsibility for their band falling apart. Let him know that the Avery he knew was gone and that he was a better person now and capable of being a better friend if given the chance.

He had nothing to lose really. The worse JT could do was tell him to get lost. Right?

...

Freshly woken from her nap, Juliette and Avery decided that it'd be a good idea to take the baby out to one of Nashville's parks and enjoy the nice weather. Juliette put together a nice picnic while Avery got Cadence dressed for the outing.

Avery was looking forward to it. It was their first real outing as a family, just the three of them. He loved the vibe between the three of them. They were a happy family and he felt closer to Juliette than ever. He had been afraid that hearing about his past, about the person he used to be would have ran her off. Made her change her mind about him. But it seemed to have brought them closer together. Now Juliette knew that he wasn't this perfect guy who had never done anything wrong in his life and had never hurt the people that he loved. It made her more relaxed with him, which was great!

Fifteen minutes later, they found a nice park, where families were indeed having picnics together and just enjoying the day. Avery parked the car and helped Juliette gather their supplies and everything they would need for Cadence. Five minutes later, Avery had a nice picnic spread out under a willow tree that sat a little bit away from where everyone else was sitting.

"This is nice," Juliette settled down on the red and white checked blanket that Avery had spread out. She looked at Cadence in her pumpkin seat, gurgling away and giggling at the birds and butterflies fluttering about.

"Perfect for a family picnic," Avery grinned, taking the food out of the basket. "I think I've packed Cadence some mashed sweet potatos in here somewhere..."

Juliette watched him dig through the basket and smiled when his face lit up when he found the jar of food. She loved watching him like this. His face...it was so expressive.

"Here we are! Now our princess won't starve," Avery grinned, holding up the jar for Juliette to see.

"You know, I've been thinking. How would you feel if I started making Cadence's food myself? They have these machines that smashes and blends foods for babies. It's more healthy than buying the food. This way, we know what goes into it. What do you think?"

Avery was a little surprised that Juliette would want to make Cadence's food herself. He thought that she'd want to get started on her career, but he was glad that she was thinking in terms of what was best and more healthy for Cadence. It really did show him that she was as much into this as he was.

"I think it's a great idea. I think Cadence would love it too," Avery agreed, leaning in to give his wife a quick kiss, not seeing the couple with a baby of their own slowly approaching.

"Hello Avery," the unsmiling man greeted as Avery pulled away from the kiss.

Avery's eyes widened in surprise as he realized who it was. "JT, man, how are you? It's been a while." He looked at Juliette, wondering if she had something to do with JT showing up out of the blue like this, but she looked just as clueless as he was.

"It has. I've been pretty busy. I got married and had a kid. This is my wife Jessica and our baby Luke," JT introduce the lovely African-American woman at his side and the baby that was just about Cadence's age that was in a stroller, smiling happily at Cadence, probably happy to spot another baby. Cadence laughed and giggled, reaching her arms out to the other baby as they babbled at each other.

"You got married? I had no idea. I got married and have a kid as well...even though we got divorced, but we're working things out again. This is Juliette and our daughter Cadence," Avery managed to get out over his shock and a tinge of hurt. After all, JT had once been his best friend in the world. He had once thought that they would be best men at each other's weddings. Of course, after what he had done, that hadn't been the case.

"You're Juliette Barnes," Jessica gasped, her eyes widening in recognition. "Oh my god, I love you! Don't put dirt on my Grave Just Yet is my favorite song!"

Juliette smiled, happy to meet a fan. "It's one of my favorites as well. It's so nice to meet you."

"JT, why didn't you tell me that you knew the Juliette Barne's baby daddy? No matter what you always cringed at some of the gossip," Jessica nudged her husband.

Avery tried not to cringe at what had now become his media title. He detasted being called Juliette's baby daddy, but that's what he was really. But he was also a producer and wanted to be known for that instead. "I'm also a producer as well," he gave a light hearted chuckle.

"You're a wonderful baby daddy," Juliette giggled, giving his hand a squeeze.

"I didn't mention it because we kind of fell out of touch," JT shrugged. Coming over to say hello to what had once been his best friend was not the easiest thing. A part of him missed Avery and wondered how he was doing, especially when he was in gossip papers. He knew that he could have always called Scarlett to get Avery's number, but he never had, thinking that maybe Avery would rather leave the part of his life that had included their friendship behind. But seeing Avery with his girl and baby, he couldn't not speak. "I just wanted to say hi..."

"I'm glad you did. It's good seeing you, man. It's good to see that you're doing well," Avery nodded afraid to say more, like how much he missed his old friend. How much he regretted their falling out and would love to be friends again, especially since they had babies the same age. Just think if Cadence and little Luke grew up together.

Seeing the look in Avery's face, the desire to say more, but the fear of rejection, she decided to take action. "You know, I don't know many of Avery's friends from Mississippi, only Scarlett. Why don't you two and your baby come to dinner sometime this week? I'd love to get to know both of you better and I think our babies have made friends already."

"I don't know...," JT frowned, not knowing if he would be necessarily welcomed. After all, when Avery had gotten that record deal, he had been quick to dump his old friends. Why would he want his former best friend hanging around his new life of the rich and famous?

"That's a great idea! Luke needs more friends and it'd be great to know another couple," Jessica's eyes widened. She turned to her husband, her eyes pleading with him to accept Juliette's invitation. "Say yes, honey! We hardly go out and this will give you two time to catch up with each other. Wouldn't it be nice to have a friend from home? You always seem so jealous when Susy and I share our Kentucky humor. Wouldn't be nice to have someone you can share your own humor with?"

JT sighed, feeling himself give in. He did miss Avery, despite how things had ended between them. He missed the poker games, the jam sessions, the talk about women and music. He missed the easy comradarie that had once existed between them. Hell, he just missed his best friend. If having dinner with Juliette Barnes was a way to get that friendship back, he'll do it.

Besides, he was curious about how life as Juliette Barnes' baby daddy was treating his old friend. He just hoped that this wouldn't be a case of curiousity killed the cat.

"Okay...if it's alright by you," JT watched Avery closely, looking for any sighs of annoyance or reluctance to have him around. All he saw was nervousness and a deep sense of sadness. Maybe he wasn't the only one missing their friendship after all.

"It's alright, I'll be glad to have you and your family over and catch up with each other," Avery smiled, feeling nervous but grateful at the same time. This was the second chance that he had thought that he'd never get.

"How does Wednesday sound to you?" Juliette pulled out the digital planner that she kept with her at all times. She was relieved to see that she had Wednesday free and clear.

"That would be great! We'll see you then," Jessica happily accepted.

JT and Jessica waved as they and baby Luke headed for the park exit. Once they were gone, Avery looked at Juliette as if seeing her for the first time.

"You didn't have to do that, invite them to dinner..."

Juliette frowned, wondering if she had done the wrong thing. She had just assumed that Avery would want to see JT again, especially after their discussion earlier. Plus, he had looked so sad, like he was seeing something he had lost and felt it was too late to get it back. She had to do something to help.

"Did I do the wrong thing? I assumed that you would want to see him again. Have a chance to repair what's broken between you two."

Avery shook his head, taking her hand in his. "Baby, I'm not mad. You didn't do anything wrong. I was just taken by surprise. To be honest...I'm glad that you invited them to dinner. I don't think I would have had the strength to do it myself. Especially since our falling out was my fault. I just hope he knows how sorry I am about what happened. I just..I'd love to get him back."

Juliette smiled, her eyes sympathetic. "Now you know how I had been feeling when I had returned from rehab wanting you back...yet not knowing if it was even possible."

Avery sighed and squeezed her hand. "I'm sorry baby..."

"Don't be. It was my own fault. But things are good now. I made you see that I am truly sorry and that I had changed. I got you back and I believe that you can get your friend back too. Just be honest with him. Let him see how truly sorry you are. He seems like a good guy and I can tell that he misses you too. I think that you have a good chance of getting him back."

"It'd be great if I did. I mean with him having a baby Cadence's age...it'd be great if they had the same friendship that JT and I had at the beginning, before the whole record deal crap messed it up."

"Yeah. It would. Growing up, I didn't have any friends. I was too embarrassed by momma and what other people would think if they knew. A friendless childhood is not one I want for our baby girl. I want her to be surrounded by friends...and if not surrounded, at least have one good friend, you know?"

"I know. JT and I, we had an awesome childhood. We were inseparable and got into all kinds of trouble together. I want that for her too."

"Well with any luck, she'll have that. But let's concentrate on getting you and JT back together, first," Juliette grinned, again leaning over to kiss her man, happy that she was part of helping Avery for once and not the other way around.


	12. Chapter 12

_**(A/N: I'm sorry that this chapter took so long to get out. Writer's block was brutal.)**_

Juliet watched as Avery walked through the house again, for what must be the one hundredth time. He wanted to make sure that everything was nice and neat. That nothing was out of place, and that there was no signs of the unhappy times of the past. JT and his family were going to arrive at any minute and Avery wanted everything to be perfect.

"Baby, you've done checked everything, twice. There's nothing more that needs to be done...except keeping the eye on the food and making sure that it doesn't burn," Juliette returned to the kitchen, just in time to take the garlic bread out of the oven.

"I just want everything to be nice and perfect. What are you making again?"

"Spaghetti and meatballs and garlic bread. The one thing that I cannot burn, really," Juliette chuckled. "And salad. Emily brought some wine earlier. I'll go ahead and take that out."

"Wine is good," Avery nodded his approval, nervously rubbing his hands together. "He likes red. Red goes good with pasta, right?"

Juliette returned from the kitchen and watched Avery as he paced the floor. He was as stiff as a board! Nothing like her normally relaxed and casual boyfriend at all! "You're so tense. Come here."

She walked up and began to massage his shoulders and arms, hoping to work out the tension. "Relax. It's just your best friend."

"Yeah, the best friend I had screwed over not too long ago."

"That was pre-Cadence Avery. You're a different person now. He'll see that, if he hasn't already."

"Pre-Juliette Avery," He chuckled, straightening the cuffs of his dark blue shirt.

"You look great, everything is perfect. You're going to have a great night with your friend," Juliette smiled, giving him a quick kiss before pulling away. "Now let me go get ready. I think I have sauce spelt on my shirt."

"You still look like a million bucks," Avery winked, wrapping his arms around her, leaning in for another kiss, just as Cadence began to cry. Judging from the tone, it was her need a new diaper cry. He sighed and released Juliette, stepping away. "I'll get her and you get changed. JT will be here at any minute."

"That's a good plan," Juliette nodded, hiding her disappointment at the interruption. Then again, she was grateful for it. She really did need to change. Like her husband, she was nervous and wanted to make a good impression. These people knew her as Juliette Barnes, the diva in the gossip rags. She wanted them to know the Juliette that Avery knew. But it was so hard to be that Juliette around strangers. It meant lowering the walls that she had so carefully built throughout the years. It wasn't something she did often, but she would this time. For Avery. She could tell that this was important to him. He wanted his friend back and she'll do anything she could to make that happen.

...

Avery and Juliette had the table set and the food set out, ready for their guests. Cadence sat in an oversized playpen that Avery had set up in the far right corner, for the babies to play while the adults visited with one another. It was a perfect set up, yet Avery was still nervous.

"Baby, relax," Juliette smoothed out the wrinkles in the royal blue skirt of the dress she had chosen to wear.

"I am, I am...it's just been so long since JT and I had even broke bread together much less said more than a handful of words to each other. Now he's married with a kid."

"Well so are you...well at least you were, but you still have the kid part in common," She gave a wry smile.

"Yeah. He was smart enough not to turn away from the woman he loves," Avery sighed, self depreciation clear in his voice.

"Hey, none of that. We were going through a really bad time and it was my fault anyway. I was sick and self destructing, refusing anyone's help, and you had Cadence to think about. She comes first. Even before me. He would have probably done the same thing if put in the same situation."

"I'm just glad that we're back together. I could just sense the judgement if we were still split up."

"Really? He didn't seem judgemental to me? Besides, if anyone was to be judged harshly, it's me. I'm the one that went off the rails. Look, just relax. You've changed and he probably has to. Get to know one another again. Leave the past in the past. That's what tonight is all about, right?"

Avery just smiled and wrapped his arms around her, resting his head against hers as they looked into each other's eyes. "What would I do without you?"

"You'll never have to find that out. Not ever again," she simply smiled, lifting her lips for a quick kiss, just as the doorbell rang.

"That's them," Avery stepped away.

"Let's go greet our guest. I'll get Cadence, you open the door," Juliette winked one last time before making her way over to the playpen.

Rubbing his hands together, Avery went to open the door to JT, Jessica, and baby Luke, who clapped happily when Juliette appeared with Cadence in his arms.

"Hey, welcome! Come in!" Avery smiled brightly, waving them into the house.

"JT, Jessica! We are so glad that you guys could make it and Cadence is especially excited to see Luke," Juliette also greeted, noticing the smile on Cadence's face.

"We are so happy to be here. Thank you again for inviting us," Jessica's smile was bright, friendly, and beautiful and how JT looked at her, Avery knew that it was that smile that had caught his old friend's heart.

"Juliette's right. It is great to have you here, man. It's been so long since we just hung out together. I think the last time, you were single and..."

"You were with Scarlett. How is she doing now, by the way? I heard she's making a lot of noise in that new band she's in. The...exes?"

"Yeah. It used to be the triple exes, but Cadence needed me more and now they may have to change the name again since they're no longer exes. They had just gotten back together," Avery rambled, leading the way into the dining room, hoping that JT didn't catch on to how truly nervous he was.

"Oh. Rumor also had it that you once got back together..."

"Oh, we had...but we realized that we were better friends. And both of our hearts were elsewhere at that point. You should visit her some time. She'd love to hear from you and meet Jessica and Luke. She's great with babies."

"You guys all came to Nashville together, didn't you?" Jessica asked, taking a seat next to her husband, once she and a quiet Juliette got the babies settled in the playpen.

"Yeah. JT, Scarlett, me, and some other guys. Scarlett was mainly here for her uncle Deacon, but we were looking to make it big with our band, and where better to do that than Nashville?"

"Well,they don't call it music city for nothing," Juliette chuckled, joining into the conversation. "So, you and Avery grew up together?"

"Yeah, we were friends since high school. Bonded through love of music and started a band together. I thought that we would make it in the music industry together because we both loved music...but I guess that's why they call dreams dreams," JT shrugged. "But I guess you never really know a person..."

There it was. The elephant in the room. The wedge that was still in place between them.

"I was a different person back then. I've grown up a lot," Avery barely noticing Juliette taking hish hand. "I realized some hard truths about the business and myself and...I regret my decisions and behavior."

"Really?" JT pursed his lips, not really sure that he believed Avery. Really, the only reason he had agreed to come here was because of Jessica, who seemed to think that he missed his friendship with Avery. He did, but still...he wasn't sure if Avery had changed. After all, he was dating Juliette Barnes and living a lifestyle that was a step above where they had both started. How did he know that Avery wasn't the same narcisstic person he once was?

"Really. Back then...I forgot what was important. I had forgotten about the love of the music and having something to say and having the freedom to say it. I...I had allowed it all to go to my head and because of that, I had lost everything. My friends, my girlfriend, even the career that I had wanted so badly. I had to fall and fall hard to learn that lesson, but I did and I made a lot of changes in my life," Avery looked up and met the eyes of the man that had once been his best friend in the world. "I had hurt you and I'll never forgive myself for that. I betrayed our friendship and everything we stood for for five minutes in the spotlight and it wasn't even worth it. If I could go back and change things I would..."

"But you can't. You did betray me and the guys. You turned your back on us, man! I wish I could say that I understood it, but I don't. You had thought only of yourself and that wasn't right."

"I know that..."

"How do I know that you're not that person anymore? That you can now put others above yourself? I can't be a friends with someone that will turn his back when the friendship no longer benefits him. Not anymore."

Avery was silent, not knowing how to answer JT's questions. He was understood why JT was reluctant to trust him again, even though it hurt to remember just how bad he had been back then. It was Juliette who answered, much to his and JT's surprise.

"He left me," her voice was almost so quiet that she was barely heard. Her eyes were on her plate, but she soon looked up, straight at JT. She was lowering a wall, something that hurt to do, but it was for Avery. He needed her and she was done running.

"What?" JT frowned.

"It was after Cadence was born. I had postpartum depression real bad and was refusing to get help. One night...it got really bad, we had an argument and I threw a glass globe at him while he was holding Cadence. I wasn't at all in my right mind and didn't realize what I was doing until it was too late. I was in no condition to be a mother. Avery didn't want to leave...but...he had our daughter to protect and he was the only parent capable of giving her the care she needed, so he left. He didn't let me near our daughter until I got the help I needed.

"And that's not all, he was by Scarlett's side when she needed him when her mother came to town and she had that meltdown. He visited her everyday and sat by her side and held her hand until she was ready to stand on her own again. My jealousy be damned. He's a great friend to Will and supported him when he came out. He and Gunnar are the best of friends now and...he really has changed. He's not the same man he was when you came to Nashville. He's now a great friend and father and lover. I think you'd be doing yourself a favor by getting to know the man he has become and leaving the man he was in the past. We all make mistakes. We all become people that we're ashamed of. But we can always change for the better and work to be better...and that's what Avery has done."

JT nodded, his eyes looking at Avery, who didn't dare look up from his plate until JT responded. "It looks like you have quite an advocate there, man."

Avery looked up from his plate and smiled, squeezing Juliette's hand. "Well, we've seen the best and worse of each other by now. If anyone knows the person I am now, it's her."

"Well in that case...maybe there's no harm in giving this friendship another chance. I mean...I've missed you. I think we've known each other for too long not to..."

"I'd like that," Avery smiled, grateful for the chance to prove to JT that he wasn't the same Avery that had thrown his friends under the bus for a record deal. That he had changed into a man that now knew the value of friendship and knew that there were things that were priceless. Things that money and fame just couldn't by. Thanks to Juliette, he was going to get that chance and he wasn't going to squander it.


	13. Chapter 13

Annoyed, Avery sat on his bed, his cell phone to his ear as he listened to his father yell at him about all the wrong choices he had made, going back to Juliette being one of them. Avery knew that cluing in his parents about the developments in his relationship with Juliette would not be welcomed news and that his father would have a lot to say. It didn't come to a surprise to him at all, which was why he was telling them now. He didn't want the holidays to arrive and have Juliette deal with them finding out the news later on. This way, he could take the brunt of his parents annoyance.

"I know what I'm doing dad. It's best for me and for Cadence. She's gotten the help she needs and I believe this is the best thing for Cadence. We're her family and besides, I love her. Obviously, that's never going to change."

He paused as his father again expressed more of his displeasure. He sighed in relief when his mother took the phone.

"I know, mom. I am careful, we're taking it one day at a time. Cadence is happy and so am I. Thank you, I'm glad that someone understands me. I know, I know. He's only concerned, but he needs to accept that this is my decision. Yes...yes. I love you both too. No, I haven't heard from Caroline yet...I'll call if I do. I will...night."

He hung up the phone and tossed it on his nightstand table. He had hoped that the phone call to his parents would go more smoothly than that. His mother had understood his decision to go back to Juliette, stating that he couldn't help who he loved and that this was probably the best for Cadence. But his father was a whole other story. Which wasn't new. It was rare that anything he did satisfied his father much.

A slight knock at the door interrupted his thoughts. He smiled as Juliette stuck her head into the room. "How did it go?"

"My father hates you and thinks I'm a moron," was Avery's flat reply.

"I'm not really surprised. But you're not a moron. I'm the moron," Juliette sighed, walking over and sitting next to him on the bed.

"No you're not. My father is. A judgmental, unforgiving, moron. That's why my sister has yet to return home from wherever she ran off to," Avery sighed, taking her hand. "Forget about him. He'll just have to deal."

"You never talk about your sister much," Juliette rested her head against his shoulder, her fingers absentmindedly playing with his.

"Well, she's not exactly my favorite topic. She left home when I was sixteen. She was pretty wild."

"Oh really? Did you two get along?" Juliette couldn't say why she was asking all of these questions. They've had so many conversations about herself. They've talked about her past, her mother, her childhood in Alabama, and her hopes and dreams for the future. But they never talked about his childhood. It was time she changed that.

Avery pursed his lips and shrugged, not really wanting to discuss his sister, but he knew everything there was to know about Juliette, it was only fair that he shared information as well. "For the most part, yeah. When I was fourteen, I thought that she was the coolest person in the world."

"I take it that's changed."

Avery shrugged. "I really don't think much of her at all, to be honest. I haven't seen her since Scarlett and I moved here."

"Why? If I had a brother or sister, well I probably would have pushed them away and ruined our relationship as well...but it may not have been so bad in Alabama. Then again, I probably wouldn't have left Alabama at all, not wanting to leave them."

Avery snorted. "Having a brother didn't stop Caroline from running off with her biker boyfriend the first chance she got. Dad of course was furious and told her not to bother coming back."

"How did that make you feel?"

Avery snorted. "Angry and determined to leave as soon as possible. Which I did. Once high school was over, I left for school and that's where I had met Scarlett. Few years later, we made our way here to Nashville and the rest was history."

"I wish I had known you back then."

"Really? I probably would have annoyed you."

Avery laid back onto the mattress, with Juliette cuddling up next to him. They looked at each other with adoring eyes.

"I don't think I could ever get annoyed with you. Besides, I'd have room to talk. I am quite a diva you know."

Avery just laughed before tenderly kissing her. He smiled as the kiss ended. "I think I would have out diva-ed you."

"Yeah right," Juliette laughed. "Anyway, back to your childhood. What was it like for you, growing up? Were you a happy child? Did you get picked on a lot? Was there ever a time when you got along with your father?"

"Why you're full of questions, aren't you?"

"I just want to know the man I love a little better, is all. You know all about my crappy childhood. Now it's your turn. Spill."

"Well, we were pretty much middle class. We never went hungry. We always had food, clothes, and toys. I guess we were what you could call the American Dream. Caroline hated it. She was always rebelling, finding some way to piss dad off. But we got along okay, despite the insane belief she had that I was considered the good one. I guess she was never around for dad's lectures about how much of a slacker I was and how I was wasting my time with music."

"Why is he like that? You're his son, he should be proud of your accomplishments."

Avery shrugged. "Momma said that he was always like that. It was because of him that Caroline ended up running off. She had came home late, I think she had been drinking. There was yelling, door slamming and the next day, Caroline was gone off with her boyfriend and dad refused to even say her name."

"That's sad. And you hadn't heard from her since then?"

"Oh there's been letters and phone calls on my cell, but we haven't seen each other in person in quite some time. I miss her at times. But it is, what it is. I would like her to see Cadence, someday though," Avery lapsed into silence, thinking about what his sister must be like by now. He hadn't heard from her in over six months. He wondered if she was safe. If she had a place to stay. If perhaps she had gotten in touch with their parents.

"That would be nice."

"I think she would like you. I should try to get in contact with her. Invite her to Nashville to meet you and Cadence. It's not like she'd have to see dad or anything," Avery chewed on his bottom lip, really thinking the possibility over. Of course, inviting Caroline to come visit would mean having updated information...which he could probably find out somehow, since the number he had was disconnected the last time he had tried to call her.

"I could have Glenn look into it. I'd be happy to help," Juliette offered.

The more he thought about it, the more that Avery liked the idea. Things were going so well, family wise. Despite his father's unhappiness, he would like his family to be all together for Cadence. It was best to work on it now while she was still a baby and unaware of the tension between everyone right now.

"I think that's a great idea. I'll write down what I know so far and whoever Glenn gets can take it from there. I just need a number mainly," Avery smiled. "That is if it's not any trouble..."

"It won't be. Glenn loves you. He wouldn't mind doing you this favor and I look forward to meeting her. At least I'd have someone else on my side when it comes to your family."

Avery just chuckled. "You and Caroline against my father. That will be a sight to see."

Juliette sighed, threading her fingers through his, linking them together. "Seriously, I don't want to be the reason that you don't talk to him. He's doesn't accept this, because he loves you and Cadence so much and doesn't want to see you hurt. He'll come around when he sees that I'm not going to take off again. And if he doesn't, that doesn't matter because all I care about is what you and Cadence think."

"And we love you."

"And you love him. Just remember that. I didn't realize how much my mother cared until it was too late. By then, I couldn't build a relationship with her. Don't make the same mistake with your dad. Whether he likes me or not. Because he loves you, or else he wouldn't be so livid right now."

Avery sighed, taking her eyes off her to stare up at the ceiling. "I'm not the one preventing us from having a relationship. I just want him to lay off the criticizing. I know that I screw up. I admit that freely, but I don't need him holding my mistakes, or yours for that matter, against me. I just want him to be my dad, not my judge, jury, and executioner."

Juliette didn't know what to say to this. It wasn't like she was an expert on parent/child relations. She definitely was anything but an expert. She just wished that she could help him heal that relationship, not be a reason why it tore any further apart.

"Maybe it'd be a good idea to just keep our distance for a while. Once he sees that we're not going to implode again, he'll have a better time accepting me and laying off the criticism," Juliette kissed his neck and twirled strands of his hair around her finger. "It's not like I was itching to be in the same room as your parents any time soon anyway."

"Enough about my parents and family life in the Barkley household. I want to know when you're going to be ready to go back into the studio. You don't have to tour or anything, but I was thinking...it'd be nice to write some songs together again. Maybe we can even do some duets at The Bluebird," he turned on his side, his eyes lighting up at just the idea of writing with Juliet. Add performing with her...that was beyond his wildest dreams.

Juliette blinked a few times, taken aback by the quick change of topic. Her brain quickly caught up though and her smile told Avery all that he needed to know. Of course she wanted to continue to write and perform with him. Professionally, she was on a break from the limelight, but that didn't mean that she had to take a break from music altogether.

"Well, I was planning to just enjoy as much time off as I could. I want to concentrate on you and Cadence, but I never said I was taking time off from music altogether. If you want to write, just say the word. I am all for it."

"That's great..."

"How about we start tonight? After Cadence is in bed asleep and we'll have plenty of time to ourselves."

"Sounds like a plan that I can live with."

They wrapped their arms around each other and lost themselves in a tender kiss. Parents disapproval, delayed careers, whatever. None of it really mattered, just as long as they stood by each other. As long as they were together, they could whether any storm.


	14. Chapter 14

"Baby! Where are my black boots?!" Avery called up the stairs, where Juliette was busy changing Cadence. It was a Monday and Avery remembered that he was supposed to be at Highway 65, getting interviewed by one of Rayna's clients.

"I don't know! Are they under your bed?!" Juliette called back down.

"No!"

"Did you look under mine?!"

For the past few weeks, Avery had been going back and forth between his own room and Juliettes. Juliette had wanted to suggest that they just go back to sharing a bed, since their relationship had deepened even more, but she was afraid to. She didn't want to do anything to jepordize the progress they had made. Avery will stop going back and forth when he felt more comfortable with her. At least that's what she kept telling herself.

Sighing, he ran upstairs to her room and sure enough, there his black boots were at the edge of the bed. "Found them!"

Lifting Cadence off the changing table, she walked out of the nursery to stand in her bedroom doorway, watching him pull the boots on. "Funny. I remember the thumps they made when you kicked them off last night..."

Avery looked up at her and rolled his eyes, not even bothering to hide how his face reddened a little in a slight blush. "Not in front of our daughter, please."

The ring of the doorbell kept Juliette from responding. She sighed and rolled her eyes. "I hope that's Emily. She promised to come over with coffee and croissants."

"Oh. I didn't know that you two had plans. Well, good. I'm glad, now I don't feel so guilty for going to this interview," Avery smiled.

"Aww, there's no need to feel guilty. I know how much you love your work. I hope everything works out for you, babe."

"So do I. I need to pull my own weight around here."

Juliette frowned. She didn't want Avery to think that he had to work. She didn't mind if he didn't. In fact, she rather that he was there with her all the time instead of sequestered away in some studio. She opened her mouth, but again the doorbell interrupted. "Let me just go get that..."

With Cadence still in her arms, Juliette walked downstairs and opened the door to a woman a few years older than herself with dark blond hair and blue eyes that looked familar. With her was a tall, ebony haired man, wearing a sleeveless leather jacket that showed off his tattooed arms. A pair of dark glasses hid his eyes from view. To her he looked like Chester Bennington from that band Linkin Park. She eyed the newcomers warily, never having seen them before.

"May I help you? If you're looking for the Salvation Army, they're at the other side of town," Juliette sighed, not in the mood for strangers today.

"We're not here for the Salvation Army. We're here to see your baby's daddy. We figured that you would know where he now resides," The girl explained, her smile wide, yet also familar. Who was this woman? She knew that she had never seen her before in her life.

"My baby's daddy? You know Avery?" Juliette frowned, wondering what her boyfriend was up to. He had never mentioned these people, she didn't think so anyway. "Who are you?"

"He never mentioned me, huh? Well that figures," The girl chuckled.

Juliette frowned and opened her mouth to tell this woman off when she heard Avery come down the stairs and then paused when he passed the open door and saw who it was. She turned around to see her boyfriend staring at the stranger as if she was a ghost.

"Avery, who is this? She claims to know you. Are you starting another band?" Juliette questioned.

"Caroline?" Avery stared, his voice revealing just how shocked he was.

"Why hello, baby brother. You remember me after all," the woman grinned.

Juliette blinked, taken by surprise herself. Of course, Avery had told her about his sister and that he hadn't heard from her in quite a while. They had even talked about tracking her down and inviting her over. She had just never imagined that the woman would just show up on their doorstep out of the blue like this. Judging from Avery's expression, this was definitely a shock to him.

"This is the sister you told me about?" She turned to Avery.

"Yes. I don't know how she found this address though...or that she was coming."

"Google maps is a godsend and I thought I'd surprise you. Get to see my niece," Caroline grinned. "Well, are you going to come give your sister a hug or continue to stare at me like I'm Casper?"

Juliette watched as Avery came down to the door and hugged his sister. "Sorry. I'm just surprised. I was just telling Juliette all about you and trying to find out where you were so we can have you over."

He released his sister and turned to look at his girlfriend, curious about how much she had to do with this. "Did you do this?"

"No. Glenn was still looking into a detective. I guess I can call him and tell him to forget it."

"You were going to look for me?" Caroline arched a brow, a hand on a slim hip. In Juliette's opinion, the woman could stand to eat a few meals, but she kept her mouth shut. After all, this was one relative that didn't have a bad impression of her so far.

"Um, yes. The number I had for you stopped working a while ago," Avery rubbed the back of his neck. "I wanted you to come meet Cadence and Juliette."

"Come on in," Juliette stood to the side, granting entrance. There was no point in keeping them outside. Well, Caroline anyway. She didn't really care for the looks of the boyfriend. "Make yourself at home."

Caroline entered and looked around at the decor and gave a low whistle at the pool outside the sliding door. "This is nice. Probably the nicest place I've even been in."

Avery just shrugged, not knowing how to respond. He couldn't really take credit. This was more Juliette's house than his. "It is nice for it's size."

"So you're Caroline, Avery's sister? Who is the criminal, I mean man with you," Juliette winced. Him being a possible criminal had been something she had been thinking in her head, she hadn't meant for it to slip out. So much for good impressions.

"This is Rocky. He's my man. More like lead vocalist of his band Slaughter House. Not a criminal," Caroline wrapped her arm around his waist and then giggled as he claimed her lips in a deep kiss. She pulled away and playfully slapped his chest. "Let's keep it PG-13, sugar. My baby brother and his baby are in the room."

"I've seen a lot worse than that," Avery folded his arms, not really knowing what to make of his sister's boyfriend. How long had they been together? Where they serious? Did their parents know? "So how serious are you two?"

"That's why we stopped by. I wanted you to be the first person to know," She held up her ring finger, where a small sparkling diamond sat above a golden band. "We're married! We just got back from Vegas! I am now Mrs. Caroline Marchino!"

Avery's eyes grew round in pure shock. This had been the last thing he had expected from his older sister. Taking a look at his new brother in law, he couldn't really say that he cared for the guy, but then again he didn't even know him. Looks could sometimes be decieving. Besides, he wasn't his dad, he wasn't about to judge. "Um...congratulations!"

Caroline squealed happily and threw her arms around her brother in an excited hug. "I knew that if anyone was going to be happy for me, you would!"

"Is that the only reason you came? To announce your marriage?"

Caroline laughed and shook her head. "Of course not! I have a baby niece to meet in person! I've only seen pictures!" She turned to Juliette who protectively held a smiling Cadence. "Oh my, her pictures don't do her justice! She looks so much like you, look at that smile!"

Avery couldn't help his own smile, full of pride. Cadence was the best thing he's ever done and he didn't mind bragging that she was his, even though he sometimes bristled at the title of Juliette's baby daddy. "She does, but her beauty comes from her mother."

"Can I hold her?" Caroline held her arms out to Cadence.

At first Juliette was reluctant, then she reminded herself that this was Avery's sister. This may be the only person on her side when it came to Avery's family. She wasn't ready to burn that bridge just yet, so she just smiled and handed Cadence to her. "Sure. She may cry though. She's getting close to that stranger danger stage."

To Juliette and Avery's surprise, Cadence didn't cry. She just smiled widely, as if this was her Aunt Scarlett or Uncle Will.

"She doesn't seem to see me as a stranger. She must sense that I'm her Auntie," Caroline grinned.

"Or she's just friendly. She loves the attention. It's the little diva inside of her," Avery winked at Juliette who just folded her arms and tried to look annoyed.

"Babe, don't you have that interview at Highway 65 to be getting to?"

Avery widened his eyes, realizing that in all the excitement of his sister's arrival, he had completely forgotten. "Shit! I have to go! Rayna will never sit me up for another job again!"

"I highly doubt that. But go, I'll entertain your sister until you get back," Juliette stood to the side as Avery grabbed his coat and guitar.

"You really don't mind? I mean, I thought you and Emily..."

"I'm fine. I was wanting to get to know her anyway, remember? Go. Don't worry about a thing," Juliette reassured him, not blaming him for his reluctance. After all, she really wasn't one to entertain that much. But this was his family and she wanted to make a good impression...or at least a better one. There was no telling what this woman had read about her in the press.

"I won't be gone for too long, I promise. I'll be back in a few hours," Avery gave her a quick kiss and waved to his sister. "Caroline, you guys will be okay here with Juliette, right? I'll go to that interview and come straight back and then we can catch up."

"Oh. Well, okay. I'm sure that I'll be fine. It'll give me time to get to know your ex," Caroline nodded.

"Actually, we're back together...but that's a long story I will tell you when I return. Have fun you two," Avery waved before heading out for his car, leaving Juliette alone with his sister and her new husband.

Now alone with the two unexpected guests, Juliette nervously smiled and motioned towards the living room. "Why don't we all go in there and sit and get to know one another?"

"Funny, I feel like I already do know you," Caroline's smile never faded as she stood there with Cadence in her arms, her blue eyes seemingly void of malice, but still, there was something there that told Juliette not to let down her guard just yet.

"Really?"

"Yes. You're the woman that broke my brother's heart and saddled him down with this sweet girl while you went off to party with groupies. Is any of that untrue?"

Juliette winced, not surprised at all of what Caroline must have assumed from the papers alone. She had hoped to make a clean impression on Avery's sister. She should have known that was impossible. After all, she was Juliette Barnes. All of her mishaps were out there for the public to see, unfortunately. It made her sad to think of how pubicly messy things had gotten. Most couples had their bust ups in private. Her and Avery had never been afforded that luxery.

"Now, now baby. We don't know the full story. After all, your brother is back with her so there must be more to it," Rocky stepped between the two women. "We can't judge something that we aren't privy to."

"Hmm, I was privy to the heartbreak in my brother's voice, last time we spoke. But you're right. I can't judge."

Juliette was surprised by Rocky's defense of her. She had not been expecting that and felt even more guilty for assuming the worse just because he had tattoos and looked like a tough guy.

"Thank you. Look, I know it looked bad...it was bad and Avery had every right to leave me like he did. He had to put Cadence first. Yes, After Cadence's birth, I did push him away and became the stereotypical party girl that most people expected me to be anyway. But as Avery can tell you, I was a different person then. I had post partum depression. It took losing Avery and causing my manager to lose his life to admit that I needed help and check into rehab. It was a long road, but I finally got better and Avery saw that and we're working on our relationship again. We want to give Cadence the family she deserves and...I love your brother more than anything. He's the one man that I can't live without. I consider myself lucky that he's forgiven me and has given me another chance."

"Well, I'm in no means in any place to judge. If Avery says that you're okay, it's good enough for me. Even though, don't expect our father to be the same. He's everyone's judge, jury, and executioner," Caroline shrugged as she tickled Cadence, who giggled in response. "Besides, anyone who made this beautiful angel can't be all bad, right?"

Juliette smiled, feeling like maybe she had found a somewhat kindred spirit in Caroline. "Right."


	15. Chapter 15

Juliette pursed her lips with her arms folded over her chest as she stood in the doorway of her bedroom. Cadence was asleep and Caroline and Rocky had decided to go out and explore some of Nashville, after Juliette encouraged them to do so, so she could get their room prepared. Once they were gone, she had moved all of Avery's things into her room and prepared that room for his sister and brother in law. Now his things were occupying her room and now she wondered if maybe she should have waited to discuss this move with Avery, who had yet to return from his interview.

Things had been going so well though. Would he really mind moving back into the room that he spent most of his evenings in, anyway? Usually, they'd end up making love in her room and he'd slip back to his in the middle of the night. Honestly, it'll be nice to wake up next to him for a change. Plus it would give them a united front. His sister would have questions if they were still sleeping in separate rooms.

But what if he wasn't happy? What if he felt that it was too soon? That she was rushing things? That they were moving too fast or he just didn't want to see her face in the morning? What would she do then? She probably should have waited...but then when would they have time to talk about it with his sister and brother in law around?

"Babe! I'm back!" Avery called as he entered the house, clueless about the dilema that Juliette had somehow created.

She slowly walked down the stairs and stood at the bottom with a nervous smile. "Hey. How did it go?"

"Awesome! They hired me! I'm going to be working with this new singer, Whitney Nelson. She's really talented and Rayna seems excited about signing her. Rayna says that she'll probably be the next Carrie Underwood."

"Cool. I guess it's good that they haven't found the next Juliette Barnes yet, huh?" She chuckled as he walked up and kissed her.

"Now that would be impossible. There's only one Juliette Barnes."

"Oh there will be another one, sooner or later. Especially if I don't get back into the studio."

"Hey, you're welcomed to go back to work at anytime, sweetie."

"I know. I just...don't feel ready yet. You know?"

Avery nodded, understanding completely. After rehab, the revelation about Jeff's death, and the plane crash, not to mention the work on their relationship, heading back to the studio was most likely the last thing on her mind. "I know. Of course, I know. Look, you have all the time in the world. Return when you're ready."

"See, that's one of the things I love about you. You always support me...when I'm not being off the wall crazy that is," She smiled.

"That's part of being in a real relationship. We support each other," Avery rubbed his nose against hers, before glancing up and scanning the room for any sign of their guests. "So, where is my sister and her husband? Tell me that she was on her best behavior."

"Oh she was great. Not a problem at all," Juliette nervously chuckled, stepping away from him as she began to nervously wring her hands. "In fact, they went to explore the city some while I got their room together..."

Avery frowned. As far as he knew, there were only three bedrooms to be had. There was Juliette's room, the nursery, and his room. How did Juliette manage to make a room up for his sister? "Care to explain?"

"Well...you see...I figured that you'd want your sister here with us and not in some hotel or boarding house, so...I moved your things into my room and made the room up for them to sleep in," Juliette quickly explained, nearly running her words together in her haste. She had no idea how Avery was going to react.

"You did what?"

"Don't be mad. I know that we're taking it slow and you clearly wasn't ready to share a room again, but think about it. How would you explain there being an extra room and the reason why we're not sharing one? Besides, you're mostly in my room all the time anyway, so why not make it official?"

"Juliette..."

"Think about the positives here. Getting to wake up to each other, not having to drag yourself to bed everynight after an intense lovemaking session? Just being together again..."

Avery sighed and again ran a hand through his hair, confusion clear in his eyes. He wasn't at all sure about this. Was it moving too fast? Sure, he did spend most of his time in her room, but having his own room, it felt like he had space to really see things clearly. What if things stopped being clear once he shared a room with her? Just being near her flustered his thinking ability. All he can think about is holding her, kissing her, just being with her. If they shared a room, he may lose the ability to make clear decisions where their relationship was concerned and that scared him.

"What are you so afraid of?" Juliette frowned, not liking his lack of response.

"It's hard to explain."

"Why don't you try? I mean, we are in a good place now. What is the point of waiting to take the next step. It's not like I'm saying that we have to run off and get remarried. I just want to wake up next to you in the mornings again. That way, you'll be right there for good morning kisses and other things...," Juliette wrapped her arms around his waist, her eyes pleading with him to give this a chance, at least while his sister was with them.

"I can't think clearly when I'm near you...I just think that we should keep clear heads when making decisions and if we're sharing a room and a bed...it'll muddy the waters."

"Oh," Juliette sighed, letting her arms fall away from him. "So...if we share a bed, you think that you'll start making bad decisions. Well in that case, what is the point of this? I mean...I love you. I want to be with you. I want to get back to being us, where we shared everything, including a bed. If you think that will suddenly make you start making bad decisions, we might as well call it quits now."

Avery sighed and shook his head. This was going all wrong fast. "I didn't mean it like that."

"Well then how did you mean it?"

"I mean, when I'm close to you...my emotions rule my actions and it's always goes bad. I wanted to get to where I'm able to use my brain more than my heart when it comes to deiding what is right for us. Let's admit it, when we use our emotions, things go sideways. I was afraid of coming back to you, so I ran to Layla. Look how that turned out. Your depression over your career made you get drunk and sleep with Jeff and that was what broke us up the first time. Making decisions with how we're feeling always leads to bad things!"

Juliette sighed, admitting that Avery had a point. After all, look at the mess she had made out of everything because of her postpartum depression. It had destroyed their marriage. "Okay. You're right. Being ruled by our hearts and feelings had lead to nothing but trouble in our relationship. But...I don't think that has anything to do with us sharing a bed!"

"Juliette..."

"Look, how about this. We'll come to an agreement."

"What?"

She wrapped her arms around his waist again, her smile small and happy, satisfied with the solution she had come up with. "When in bed, we don't make decisions. We don't talk about issues, we don't come up with any solutions to problems. We just...be together and love one another while in bed. When we make decisions, they will be outside of the bedroom. That way, your mind will be free and clear of any emotion that may cloud your judgement and I still get to wake up in your arms in the morning and be greeted by those beautiful eyes of yours."

"Hmm...that may work. I guess we can give it a try, just as long as Caroline is here. But I'm not going to promise that it's a permanent thing..."

"I'm not asking for a promise."

Avery sighed, feeling himself give in. He wasn't really gung ho on denying her anyway. "Okay. I take it my things are already in your...our room?"

"Just waiting for you to put them away. Your drawers and the spaces in the closet are still waiting for your celebrated return!"

"Okay, well at least we have that sorted anyway."

"Are you happy about this? I mean...I know you have reservations but..."

Avery just pulled into a kiss, then kept his arms around her as he pulled away. "I'm happy. Really, I am. I love you. I just want to be sure that I do all that I can to make sure that we work. I don't want another break up."

"I don't want another break up either. Trust me, I don't. You mean everything to me. I'd give up singing altogether for you..."

Avery laughed and kissed her nose. "Now I can't let you go that far. The music is a part of you, just like it's a part of me. It's what brought us together in the first place."

Juliette laughed wrapping her arms around his neck before singing, "You're everything I'll ever need..."

"I love you..."

Juliette smiled and claimed his lips in a deep kiss that made her forget all the problems that had plagued them in the past or the ones that may be up ahead. All that mattered at that moment was them and the love that binded them together.


	16. Chapter 16

Avery was sitting on the couch, writting out some song lyrics that had appeared in his head when Caroline came through the door, looking rather excited. She and Rocky had been there for a full week now and both had been busy looking for a job. Judging by how excited his sister seemed, he assumed that she had gotten one.

"You look like you had a good day," Avery put aside his notepad, finished with the brainstorming.

"I did. I got a job," Caroline grinned, happily rubbing her hands together in excitement. "I am now the new waitress at the bluebird! I told them that I was your sister and that we were raised with the same work ethic and they hired me on the spot!"

Avery was kind of taken aback by her using her relation to him to get the job, but still he was proud of her. It was all about networking anyway, right? "Well that's good. I am sure you are going to be great. How about Rocky? Has he found anything yet?"

"Not yet, but give him time. He's a great mechanic. Hey, maybe he can work on Juliette's tour. Her bus probably breaks down a lot!"

Avery laughed and shook his head. "That would be great and all, but for one thing. Juliette's not touring right now. She's taking time off so we can work on our family."

Caroline skipped over and plopped down beside her brother. "Work on family stuff? I thought you guys were all worked out."

"Oh we're getting there. But it's a process."

"So that means no wedding soon?"

"Carly!" Avery looked at his sister in shock. He hadn't really given remarriage a thought, at least not yet. He wanted to wait until things felt more...stable in their relationship. Right now, things still felt rather new.

"What? You are planning to remarry aren't you? And this time a real wedding, not that stupid little justice of the peace where none of your family was invited. I'm talking priest, church, white gown and big reception kind of remarry! You know momma would love it."

"We'll see. Besides, daddy will have to be there and right now he rather get his teeth pulled than be in the same room with Juliette."

Caroline smirked, feeling a little pleased that she wasn't the only one on the outs with their father. Of course, she was the only one with the bombshell of being married now, but still, she felt better. "So he hates Juliette. Well not to worry. He's going to despise Rocky when I introduce him. So you'll be off the hook."

"And when do you plan on that being. Momma's always asking about you and she's gonna be hurt that you didn't tell her about Rocky and daddy...he's definitely not going to be happy for you. Hmmm, you're right. I will be off the hook."

"Well...I was thinking...it's getting close to the time when momma has that big dinner she likes to do every year, where all of us Barkley's get together. It'd be a great way to introduce Rocky...and gives a buffer so daddy won't freak out."

Avery's eyes widened. He had completely forgotten about the big Barkley dinner that was to take place in a few weeks and his mother was probably expecting him to be there with Cadence and even Juliette! He was in no way prepared for that either, but there was no choice! If he didn't go, his father would blame Juliette and things would just get worse.

"You had forgotten, hadn't you?" Caroline chuckled.

"I've been busy! Breaking up with Layla, Juliette's plane crash, reconciling with Juliette and moving back in...I had completely forgotten. I can't not go either."

"No you can't."

"And neither can you. I know, you had missed other years, but you can't miss now! Not when you had gone off and got married with out momma and daddy knowing!"

"Which is why I am planning on tagging along with you and your little family here. I think between the two of us, we can survive, don't you think? A nice united front?"

"Or daddy can just kill us both off in one stormy glare."

"Hmm, that can happen too..."

"You'd be the only one to die though. Juliette's glare will neutralize's daddy's by time it reaches me," Avery snorted, laughing when his sister playfully punched his arm.

"Jerk."

"Brat."

"Geek."

"Demon child."

"Why are you two fighting and don't you think you're being a bad influence on Cadence?" Juliette came in with Cadence in her arms and Emily following behind, her own arms full of shopping bags. The two had gone out shopping and had come back with a new wardrobe for Juliette and Cadence both and a few items for Avery.

"I see that you two had made a killing," Avery got to his feet and took Cadence from his girlfriend, after giving her a quick kiss in greeting.

"We nearly brought out the whole mall," Juliette laughed and smiled over at Caroline. "Hey, where did you go? We were hoping that you would join us."

Caroline blinked, surprised by that. She didn't really know how Juliette felt about her. She was so hard to read at times. "Oh, I went job hunting. I'm starting at the Bluebird on Monday."

"The Bluebird, Avery's old stomping ground," Juliette turned to her boyfriend. "Baby, you haven't played there in quite some time."

"Neither have you," Avery shrugged.

"I never really saw you on stage before," Caroline looked at her brother, curiously. She had left home before he had decided to make music his life's goal. It'd be nice to see him upon stage.

"You haven't? You're missing out. There's this one song he sings...his is so sensual...what was that song, babe? Kiss?" Juliette turned to Avery, who simply blushed.

"Yeah. Maybe someday, but right now all of my attention is on producing this album for Mrs. Nelson. Sometimes these sessions can go on into the night. Maybe after this job is over."

"I don't think I'm ready to hear my little brother sensually sing about kissing someone anyway," Caroline teased, nudging her brother, who just rolled his eyes.

"Well, I'll just be going. I actually have a date tonight!" Emily smiled, sitting the bags in a far corner out of the way of everyone. "I'll call first thing tomorrow."

"Okay, you have fun!" Juliette waved as Emily walked out the door.

"I think I'm going to go browse the internet for mechanic shops. Maybe help Rocky find a job sooner," Caroline also excused herself, disappearing upstairs, leaving Avery, Juliette, and Cadence to themselves.

"So what have you two been up to?" Juliette asked, taking the seat where Caroline had been sitting.

"I was writing, but then Caroline came back and we began talking. The big Barkley dinner is coming up soon. I had completely forgotten about it," Avery remained on his feet, bouncing a fussy Cadence in his arms.

"The big Barkley dinner? What is that?"

"It's a family thing that we have every year. My mom cooks a big dinner and all the Barkley and Spencer family come together. It's kind of like Thanksgiving, but not as formal. I have never missed a year, but Caroline hadn't been since she left home. We were thinking that it'd be the right time to introduce Rocky...and you. It'll at least let my parents know that you're a real part of my life and you're not going anywhere."

"And take some of the pressure off of Caroline?" Juliette guessed. She wasn't sure how she felt about going to a big family dinner where she was at most enemy number one and at least enemy number three. But looking at Avery, she knew that this was important.

"Well, I can't not go and if I go without you, that would make my dad think that we're not serious after all. But if you do come, that will tell him that you're not going anywhere and it's more like Caroline and Rocky will take pressure off of us, since most of his anger will be directed onto them."

"I see..."

Avery sighed, seeing her reluctance. He couldn't blame her. He was reluctant himself, but he knew that there really was no getting out of this unscathed. The best thing that they could do was go and whether the storm together. "Look, I just thought it'd be a way to show a united front...but if you don't want to go..."

"I didn't say that I didn't want to go. It's just that...I'm never good with meeting the parents. I...I'm afraid that I'll just make things worse."

"I don't see how. My dad already hates you."

"Gee, I feel better."

Avery sighed and walked over and sat next to her. Holding Cadence in one arm, he took her hand with the other one. "Look, I understand your reluctance. I do. I'm reluctant too...but...we're going to have to face them sometime. Why not now, when most of their wrath will be directed towards my newly married without telling anyone sister? They won't even notice us."

"You are not being funny, you know. Or reassuring."

"What can I say to make you feel better about this? I don't want to do this if you don't want to."

Juliette sighed and shook her head. "There's nothing that you can say. I'll never feel good about this. But...I will go. For you. For Cadence. For us. Your parents think that I'm going to up and leave you again. Maybe by seeing me by your side at a big family dinner, they'll see that I'm not going anywhere. They'll see that we're a real family and the love is there."

"Maybe I can get Gunnar and Scarlett to come as well. Scarlett had been before and Mom considers her family as well. We both can use all the friendly faces we can get."

Juliette laughed. She felt a little better if Scarlett and Gunnar came, she had to admit that. "Okay. It wouldn't hurt to ask. I just want them to know that I love you and Cadence. That they don't have to worry about me taking off like that again."

Avery smiled and leaned in to tenderly kiss her, telling her that it was never a question for him. Not anymore. He knew that she loved them. That she wasn't going to leave, and he hoped that this dinner will say the same to anyone else that had doubts.


	17. Chapter 17

_(A/N: Sorry that this chapter took so long to get out. I kept starting over. I'm still not really satisfied with it, but it's moving the story in the direction I want it to go :) I hope that you guys enjoy. And I want to thank you for all the reviews and for taking the time to read :) It really means a lot to me:) Not long now until the season premiere of Nashville. Can't wait to see what happens to our favorite couple)_

Juliette looked out of the window of the SUV as it made it's way to Avery's hometown in Ohio, trying to not think about what she had to look forward to when it came to finally coming face to face with Avery's parents. This was the first time she was seeing them since the CMA's that one time. His mother was nice, but his father...there was a harsh man and she could understand why Caroline ran away from home. She was surprised that Avery had stuck it out for so long himself.

Caroline and Rocky were sitting in the back seat, one on each side of Cadence, who was sound asleep in her car seat. They had invited Scarlett and Gunnar, but the couple had turned down the invitation. Scarlett had thought it best, since Avery's dad had taken a liking to her and it would make things awkward for everyone. She kind of wished that they had accepted. Some friendly faces would have made her feel a lot better about the situation.

"So how much longer until we're there?" Juliette asked, chewing on her bottom lip, worried. Were they really strong enough for this? What if his parents made Avery see the light. See that trying to get what they had back really was a fool's errand. What if she lost him and Cadence for good? What would she do then?

"Fifteen more minutes," was Avery's tense answer, worried as well, but for a different reason. He was worried about his parent's reaction to Caroline and her new husband. He had only told his mother to set a place for four people, which was himself, Juliette, Caroline, and Rocky, but he hadn't told her that Caroline and Rocky were coming. He just couldn't bring himself to give that information over the phone. Now he wondered if maybe he should have. That way, his father would have had at least a week to get his anger towards his daughter at a reasonable level. Caroline was going to kill him. He knew that much.

"It's gonna be strange being back home, huh?" Rocky smiled over at his wife, clueless on what he had to look forward to.

"It sure is. Avery, what did momma say when you told her we were coming home?" Caroline asked, having a sinking feeling. Avery was a loving brother, but sometimes he left things hanging, making things worse than they could be.

"Well...she didn't say anything really. She was curious when I told her to sit two extra places..."

"Dammit, Avery. You didn't tell her did you?!"

"I couldn't! Not over the phone like that! She cried for a full week when I had told her that Juliette and I had eloped that one time! There would be no end to her grief if I told her that her only daughter practically did the same thing! Besides, they hadn't seen you in years. You just can't announce your marriage over the phone and through a second party!" Avery defended his decision. "Yes, it'll make things harder. True, daddy won't have the time to cool down, but it was never going to be a good situation from the start."

"Are you sure you didn't leave out the fact that I was coming home with a husband so daddy won't be too focused on Juliette?" Caroline voiced a suspicion that had been with her for a few days now.

"Avery, that's not true is it? Because I can hold my own with your dad, you know that," Juliette frowned. On one hand, she was touched by such a gesture, but on the other, it made her feel weak and in need of protection and that was one thing that Juliette Barnes didn't need!

"Of course it's not true! I know that you can take whatever he throws at you. And Caroline, that's not it at all. Juliette had already went head to head with daddy before. She's up to the challenge. The question is, is Rocky up to the challenge? Maybe that's what you're afraid of."

"Rocky is up to any challenge. We are not scared of daddy. I was just hoping, for everyone's sake, that there would be less grief. That's all," Caroline frowned, crossing her arms, disappointed that Avery hadn't informed their mother that they were coming.

"Momma will be happy to see you. You know she will," Avery sighed, his guilt returning.

Silence fell over the car for the rest of the trip. The siblings really didn't have anything to say to one another and the significant others were lost in their own thoughts. Rocky was more nervous now that he knew that Caroline's parents still didn't know about him, and Juliette was worried if she really was up to the task of going head to head with Avery's father. It wasn't like the man wasn't wrong about her. His objections came from the standpoint of a father who had seen his son get hurt more than once by the same woman. She couldn't blame him for that.

Avery taking her hand in his pulled her from her doubts. "We're in this together, alright?"

She just gave a tight smile and nodded. She had to believe in him, she had to believe in them. That they were strong enough to face the objections and concerns. That they were strong in their love for one another and as Cadence's parents. "To be honest, between me and your sister and her husband, your father's head is going to explode."

"Then we can all have a peaceful dinner afterwards," Avery snorted.

Juliette couldn't help but chuckle at the attempt at a joke and shook her head. "I don't think that your mother will be happy with that outcome. Besides, who all is going to be there?"

"Aunts, Uncles, and cousins. They're gonna love you."

"Not to worry Juliette. Daddy will be too busy berating me to even notice that you're there," Caroline shrugged, her good mood fading. She had decided that coming to this dinner really wasn't a good idea after all.

"Stop being so melodramatic, baby. It won't be that bad. He'll be shocked, sure. But I plan to charm the socks off of him and show that I will make a very good husband."

"Yeah, he can't do any worse than I had," Juliette piped in.

"Look, what we all need is a united front. Daddy is not happy with me either and he definitely won't be happy for you. We're in the same boat believe it or not. Why don't the four of us, five if you include Cadence, just stick together as a single unit. That is the only way we'll probably survive this. Daddy has to know that he can't just bully any of us around anymore," Avery pulled up in front of the Barkley home, which was a white two story house with a big backyard, an oak tree, and a tree house.

"You grew up here?" Juliette eyed the house. It wasn't bad. It was definitely better than the trailer park she had grown up in.

"You even had a tree house, man! I would have killed for a tree house in the projects I grew up in," Rocky commented, his voice revealing just how impressed he was. "Caroline, you made it sound like you were growing up in a prison or something."

"I was. I don't see why you and Juliette are so impressed," Caroline snorted, unbuckling her seat belt.

"Because we didn't have this as kids. Room to run and play, a tree house to hide in...a house where you can actually move...," Juliette sighed. The house represented everything that she had wanted as a little girl but never had and everything that she wanted to give Cadence. "I want our daughter to have a place like this one. I want her to have a tree house! And a back yard..."

"Someday sweetie," Avery smiled, putting the car in park, unaware of the plans that Juliette's mind was putting together at the moment. "Right now, we can't afford to move into a bigger house."

Juliette smiled at that, because not only could they afford it, but they could build it. She had nearly forgotten about that land she had purchased a while ago. She hadn't known what she was going to do with it, but now it was all too clear what she was going to do for her daughter and their family.

"We're here. Let's get this over with," Caroline grimly replied, getting out of the car followed by Rocky.

"Try not to act like this is your execution," Avery went to get Cadence out of the car.

"Yeah. Most likely it's mine," Juliette smirked, trying to lighten up the mood.

"No, it's mine. You at least look the part as a respectable woman. I'm the rocker that their daughter brought home," Rocky laughed.

"At least your breakdown wasn't televised for the in-laws to see," Juliette crossed her arms, not about to be out done by who the Barkley's will hate more.

"At least they know you and you have the baby as leverage."

"Oh they know me alright. The woman that saddled their son down with said baby and refuses to disappear like a good dead beat momma should."

"Okay, that's enough of whatever competition this is supposed to be," Avery interrupted, shaking his head, not amused in the least.

"We're just making the best of things," Juliette chuckled, kissing the top of her daughter's head as Avery slid her into her arms.

"Time to stop stalling. Let's go pay the piper," Caroline lead the way up to the doorstep and rang the bell.

...

Sandra Barkley glanced at the clock, knowing that the time was approaching for her son's arrival. Ever since Avery had confirmed that not only was he and Cadence going to attend the big dinner this year, but Juliette would be joining them, her husband Carl had been in a bad mood. Luckily, she had convinced her husband to at least be civil to the girl. Yes, she had hurt their son twice, but the second time had been because of an illness and Avery obviously saw that she was sincere in making things right between them and that was his decision and his decision alone to make. As much as they loved their son and wanted the best, they had to let him make his own decisions and respect them. So far, it seemed that Juliette Barnes was their sons choice as a mate. They had no choice but to accept it. Besides, she didn't want her husband to chase off their another child like he had Caroline. They still had yet to hear from her again. Sandra often wondered what had happened to her only daughter and what she was doing right now.

The sound of the doorbell disrupted her thoughts. Making sure everything was in place, she walked to the door and opened it to find Avery and Juliette, who had baby Cadence in her arms.

"Avery darling," Sandra smiled, opening her arms for a big hug from her son, who went into them eagerly.

"Hello momma, we're here," He chuckled, then stepped back to wrap an arm around Juliette, who nervously smiled as she held Cadence in her arms. "You remember Juliette, don't ya?"

"Of course! Come on in, you too Juliette! Welcome," Sandra stood to the side as she ushered the couple in.

"Momma, that's not all. I know that you were wondering why I said to sit two extra plates...because I brought a surprise with me. I know you've been worried about her and when she showed up on our doorstep, well I thought now would be a great time for a reunion..."

Sandra gasped in shock as her daughter came through the door, slowly followed by a tall man with dark hair and wearing sunglasses and a leather jacket.

"Hello, momma," Caroline greeted with a nervous smile. Her hands were folded in front of her as she stood in the doorway. "I've come home."

Sandra stood there in complete and total shock as her eyes drank in the daughter she hadn't seen in years. She knew that Avery spoke to her every now and then, but contact with the elder Barkley's had been nonexistent, but now here she was before her, ready to be welcomed home.

"Caroline...is it really you?" Sandra asked, afraid that if she spoke too loud, Caroline would disappear into thin air.

"Yes, momma. It's really me. I had finally came home and I brought someone for you and daddy to meet," Caroline took the dark-haired man's hand in hers and looked up at him with total adoration in her eyes. "This is my husband Rocky. I wanted you to meet him."

Shock coursed through Sandra, her mind reeling from all this new information. She looked at her son, who looked as if he rather be anywhere but there. "You knew about this?"

"I was among the first to know, I guess. I mean, they had shown up on our doorstep all married and wanting to come home to tell you and daddy," Avery explained, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand and keeping the other one around Juliette's waist, feeling better with her close by. "Speaking of daddy..."

"Are they here yet, Sandra? I'm not in the mood to...," Carl Barkley's voice faded away as he came downstairs, not only to see is son's family, but also his estranged daughter and a man that he had never seen before, all standing in the living room looking at one another. "What the hell is she doing here and who is the hoodlum?"

"Hello to you too, daddy," Caroline frowned, a little hurt by her father's reaction, yet not surprised. "I came home. I wanted to introduce you to my new husband, Rocky."

"Your husband?!"

Avery winced at his father's shout and a startled Cadence began to whimper and cry.

"Carl, really," Sandra scolded. "Control your voice. I know this is a shock, it is to me too, but we do have company including our baby granddaughter!"

"She's okay, she's just startled," Juliette shushed Cadence, who was beginning to calm down once again.

"Yeah, she's not used to loud noises," Avery explained, kissing his daughter's head and squeezing her little fist. "It's alright sweetie. Momma and daddy are here."

"Carl, sweetheart. May I talk to you in the kitchen for a minute," Sandra gave a tight smile, telling her husband that her request was really a command.

"I suppose. But tell that man not to touch anything!," Carl gave Juliette a derisive look as well. "That goes for her too."

"Carl Barkley, I'm not asking twice," Sandra's face turned a shade of pink as she grabbed her husband and dragged him into the kitchen before Juliette could respond.

"Well that went well," Caroline frowned. She looked at Juliette and shook her head. "He really doesn't like you either, does he?"

"Parents don't tend to like me anyway, I'm used to it," Juliette shrugged, trying to not let Carl's comment get to her.

"He's just an ass. Ignore him," Avery frowned, knowing that this was going to be a long couple of days after all. He just hoped that his mother was able to keep his father's tongue on a leash, because he didn't know just how much Juliette was going to take, no matter how much she loved him.


	18. Chapter 18

Sandra pulled Carl into the kitchen and gave him a long hard glare as she gathered the words that she wanted to use. She has had it with him purposingly ruining any chance they had to make peace with their kids. Being judgemental and snarky was making things worse and she has had it!

"My goodness Carl, what in the hell is wrong with you?! You are behaving like you want no part of your kids lives! Caroline has come home and already you're treating her like a criminal! And I don't call this being civil to Juliette for Avery's sake!" Sandra gritted her teeth, her hands balled into fists.

Carl glared openly at his wife, not appreciating that she wasn't as upset as he was! This dinner was for family! He was already to be civil to Avery's little tart, even though he was sure taking the she-devil back was a terrible mistake that his son was going to live to regret, but Sandra was insane to expect him to welcome his wayward daughter, that he hadn't seen in years, and her hoodlum husband at the table as well! That was to much!

"Carl, we haven't seen her in years. She has finally come home to us. I know that you're not happy, because it doesn't fit your perfect little vision, but I am! I am overjoyed to for once have both of my children at home this year! I will not have you ruin it by being rude to the people they love! That includes Juliette and...Caroline's new husband Rocky!" Sandra planted her fists on her hips, standing nose to nose with her husband, determined to not bend this time. She had stood by and watched her daughter flee from her because of this man. She had allowed months to go by without a call from Avery, because she wanted to keep the peace with Carl. Well no more! Not this time! If nothing else, at least her children will know that at least one of their parents were willing to give their choices a chance.

"He's a hoodlum!"

"He is her husband. You don't even know him to say whether he's a hoodlum or not. Give the man a chance. And be nice to Juliette. We all know what happened between her and Avery was because of postpartum depression and she had gone and gotten help, leaving dear Cadence with Avery, where she was safe. There are women with that affliction that don't realize that they're more harm than good to their babies, but she did and she did what was best for both of them. Like Avery, I think that kind of insight deserves another chance. Avery is your son, Carl. He can be unforgiving at times and he is not a glutton for punishment, which means, he really loves her, or else he wouldn't be taking her back, much less let her be part of Cadence's life."

Carl growled in frustration, unable to find a way to tear down his wife's arguments. As much as he hated to admit it, she made sense. Besides, he really didn't want to run Avery and Caroline off. He just wished that they would make choices that he would approve of. But of course, that was asking for too much.

"Fine. I'll tone it down. I'll be nice to Juliette and I'll try to give Rocky a chance and not hate her choices."

"That's all I ask," Sandra smiled, giving her husband a peck on the cheek. "Now let's get back in there. We have a granddaughter to spoil and a son in law to get to know."

...

The Barkley's returned from the kitchen to find the four young people exactly where they had left them. In the living room, wishing that the earth would open up and swallow them so they wouldn't have to go through with the dinner after all.

"Is everything okay?" Avery questioned, deciding to be the brave one of the group.

"Everything is fine. We just had to smooth out some rough edges," Sandra's smile was serene and happy. "We both are so happy that you and your sister have joined us and brought Juliette...and Caroline's new husband."

"So you're not angry?" Caroline gave her father a skeptical glance, knowing that Carl must be struggling to hold back his rage. He was like a volcano with a stopper in the opening. The pressure was building and building and someday it will explode, killing everyone in his wake.

"We were just surprised," Sandra quickly answered, not wanting to give her husband a chance to come up with a surly answer.

"I am sorry about Cadence. I didn't mean to make her cry," Carl gruffly apologized, finding something to talk about that didn't make him grit his teeth in anger. His grandchild was the perfect subject. "She's gotten so big since I saw her last."

"That's the thing about babies. They certainly aren't babies for long," Sandra chuckled, giving her husband's hand a supportive squeeze.

"Tell me about it. It still feels like yesterday when she was a newborn and now look at her, teething and crawling," Avery chuckled, feeling somewhat relieved that his father was trying to keep it civil.

Juliette on the other hand felt uncomfortable. The subject of Cadence's early years brought to mind her behavior back then and judging by how hard Carl Barkley was looking at her, it brought that back to his mind as well.

"Those first couple of months are the most important in a baby's life. Who knows what certain events shape them as people," Carl winced as he felt his wife's nails dig into his hand,but he couldn't help himself. That girl had to know what damage her behavior had caused.

"Listen, why don't we all get settled into our rooms," Caroline stepped in before anymore tension could build. She knew that she was one of the undesirables in her father's eyes, but she couldn't take the tension anymore. She needed time to breathe before going any further.

"There's a good idea," Avery agreed, also wanting to get Cadence settled and have some alone time with Juliette. He wanted to make sure that she was okay. The vibe he was getting from this whole situation was a lot to be desired in his opinion.

"Well you know where said rooms are," Carl turned to his son, barely able to look at his daughter. It wasn't that he didn't love her...it was just that he didn't appreciate her stubbornness. Her insistence on doing things her way. Avery insisted on his way too, but not to the extent that his sister did. Caroline was willing to throw her family under the bus to get what she wanted. As far as Carl saw, his son didn't share that particular trait with his sister. So it was best to avoid talking to her at all so no arguments could flare up.

Avery and Juliette looked at one another as Cadence opened her mouth in a tired yawn, signaling that heading to what was to be their room for the duration was a good idea indeed.

"I think Cadence just made our decision for us," Avery chuckled, kissing the top of his daughter's head. "I suppose we can all catch up once we get some rest. It was a long drive."

Caroline nodded, feeling a little relieved to escape her father's scrutiny. She knew she was being a coward, but she couldn't help it. She turned to Rocky, who was looking everywhere but at her and her parents. "What do you think, babe?"

"Anything you want," he shrugged, taking off his sunglasses as he remembered that they still sat upon his face, probably making things even worse for himself in the eyes of her father.

"Yes, let's go," Caroline stood up and then looked at her mother with a small smile. "It is good to be home. Really."

"It is good to have you home. Rest up, it's just going to be us four for dinner tonight. It will give us plenty of time to catch up before everyone else arrives tomorrow," Sandra's smile was warm and genuine. She wanted Caroline to feel as welcomed as possible. She was doing her best not to judge her or her boyfriend and she appreciated the fact that Carl had held his tongue so far.

The Barkley's stood at the bottom of the steps as their son and daughter took their significant others up to what had once been their rooms. Sandra felt happy and full of hope. Finally her family was whole. Carl on the other hand was not so sure. He was still very unhappy with Caroline and enraged that she brought a strange man that they didn't know to their annual family dinner! The girl had no respect.

"Thank you," Sandra kissed his cheek, knowing how the last few minutes had been difficult for him.

"Don't thank me just yet. We still have a full weekend to go."

"I am not worried. I am sure that you will make it."

Carl took a deep breath, wishing that he had his wife's faith in his temper.

...

Cadence was sound asleep in the baby bed set up beneath the window on the right wall of the double bed, where Juliette laid on her back with Avery nearly on top of her, kissing her endlessly. It was one of the quiet times, when Cadence was asleep, giving mommy and daddy one on one time.

It was the warm touch of his fingers against her skin as his hands slid underneath her shirt that made Juliette stop him by placing a hand on his arm. "Wait."

He frowned, looking into her eyes, his own blue eyes darkened with desire and passion. "Are you okay? I'm not hurting you am I?"

"I'm fine. I just...I just feel strange doing this here, under the same roof as your parents."

Avery stared at her and then quietly laughed. "Are you serious? They know that we are both , consenting adults. It's not like you're one of the teenage girls I had sneaked up here to have my way with."

Juliette's eyes widened, taken aback. "Excuse me? I am not the first girl on this bed? How many girlfriends did you have back then?"

Avery laughed and fell backwards onto his back. "Trust me, not many. There was only one, until I left for Ole Miss...and then there was Scarlett."

Juliette gave a snort, showing that she didn't believe him. Avery was one of those guys that had it all. Handsome, charismatic, and could play the guitar. Perfect boyfriend material. "Why don't I believe you?"

"And I barely had time for the one I did have back then. I was completely obsessed with my guitar."

"It's okay. You can tell me about her. I won't be jealous."

"Right."

"Really," Juliette turned onto her side, propping her head up with her hand. "I know I was a lunatic about Scarlett. But that was the old me. The new Juliette does not suffer from such illusions. Not anymore."

Avery gave her a suspicious look, not sure if he should believe her. He rolled his eyes, coming to a decision. "Fine. Her name was Faith. She was nice, but deep into academia. We only lasted for a year. Then we graduated, she went to Harvard and I went to Ole Miss where I met Scarlett. By that time, Faith and I were well over."

"Did you love her?"

"Not really. She was more of a friend than anything else. Someone to help me avoid getting in trouble with dad."

"Was she ever up here? On this bed?"

Avery just gave an impish smile and shook his head. "No. To be honest, you are indeed the only girl I've ever had up here to make out with. No one else has ever had the honor."

"Awww..."

"Pathetic, huh?" Avery grinned, turning back on his side to gaze into her eyes.

"No. Honorable. I mean...that means that a girl has to be a special girl to make it all the way to your room."

"Which makes you special indeed, and not just because you're Juliette Barnes."

"Hmm, maybe especially because I'm Juliette Barnes. You were made for no one else but me, just like I was made for you alone."

"Hmm, I like that."

"I do too. But your father hates it, probably. Even when he's trying to be nice, I can tell that it's taking a lot of restraint not to kick me out."

Avery frowned, wondering how the subject of his father came up like this, not that he was surprised, really. After all, they were in the man's house and he was somewhere inside the building, probably brooding over Caroline showing up married.

"Don't worry about him. He knows that if you go, so do I and Cadence."

"I don't want to get between you two."

"You won't. Look, I don't want you to worry about it. If my relationship with him falls apart, it's on him. Not you. He can either be a part of what we're trying to build or not. It's his choice. Not mine and not yours. I won't have you feeling responsible for my relationship with the man."

"I can't help but feel responsible. Every time I think about my mom and the relationship we never had...I don't want that for you, Avery. I don't want you to lose him and only have what ifs to look at."

He placed a gentle hand against her cheek and kissed her deeply, before pulling away with a smile. "I promise you, there are going to be no what if's to look back on."

Looking into his eyes, Juliette believed him.

Avery was dedicated to her and Cadence. They were his family. He'd love to have his parents involved, but they didn't have to be. It was like the song they had sang together busking in Nashville. She was all he would ever need. That was even more true now than it had been back then.

 _ **(A/N: I don't know when the next update will be. My father had just died and I haven't had much desire to write. So updating my stories may lag some. I will still be updating though. A new chapter will come eventually, I just don't know when. Thank you for the reviews, favs, and follows and just reading the story. I really appreciate at and I am really looking forward to the new season coming up. I can't wait to see what the new writers will do with our favorite couple.)**_


	19. Chapter 19

Unable to sleep, Avery laid in bed, staring up at the ceiling. It had been a rather long day, mostly full of driving. But he couldn't stop thinking of the situation between himself and his father and Caroline and their father and how that will affect his own family that was trying to take shape, against all odds. He hated that everything was so...dysfunctional right now when it came to his parents. If it had just been him and Juliette showing up for the family dinner, there would be no problem. His father's stress levels wouldn't be through the roof and he'd be less likely to explode. But Caroline had shown up. She had insisted that they all attend this dinner together and his father was like a volcano. He could blow his top at any time over the smallest provocation. He just hoped to keep Juliette out of the line of fire.

Giving up on the hope of sleep, he got up and slinked out of his room and down to the kitchen. A glass of warm milk was always enough to relax him and coax him to sleep.

His feet barely made a sound on the shiny hardwood floor of the hallway and stairs as he made his way into the kitchen. He flipped the light on as he walked over to the refrigerator, keeping his eyes straight ahead, not seeing the dark figure sitting at the table.

Avery opened the refrigerator door and was reaching for the carton of milk when a voice from the table made him nearly jump out of his skin.

"Why did you bring her for?"

Startled, Avery turned around to see his father sitting at the table, his face set in eternal annoyance. Avery sighed, relieved that the voice belonged to his father and not a serial killer. "Dad, you startled me. I didn't see you sitting there."

"I figured as much. Why did you bring her here for?" Carl repeated the question. Like his son, he had been unable to sleep, his wayward daughter taking up all space in his mind. The sight of her brought up so many mixed emotions, most of them anger and frustration. Anger and frustration that he was not allowed to express, or else he had Sandra to answer to. So he came down here to brood on his own, until his son made an unexpected appearance.

"Because I love her and she's a part of this family. She's Cadence's mom and hopefully, she'll be my wife again when we feel like we're ready to take that step. The family should get to know the real her, not the Juliette in the media."

Carl gave a heavy sigh and rolled his eyes. "Not her. HER. Your sister!"

"Oh. Her..."

"Yes. Her. Why did you bring her and her criminal husband here?"

"Because she's my sister and she wanted to see you and mom. She wanted to reconcile and I thought that maybe it was time. Come on, dad. It's been years since you've seen her. Aren't you a little bit glad that she returned home? And for the record, Rocky is not a criminal. Juliette wouldn't allow him in our home if he was. He's a pretty nice guy to be honest," Avery took out the carton of milk and sat it on the counter as he went to retrieve a coffee mug from the cabinet.

"She's trouble. That's all she's ever been and will ever be. Trouble."

"You're being harsh, dad. Why won't you give her a chance?"

Carl looked at his son as if he was looking at a stranger that had lost all of his marbles. "How many chances have I given that girl? Do you remember? More than two, I can tell you that. I've done ran out of chances."

Avery sighed, recognizing bits of himself in his father. He now knew where some of his stubbornness came from and why it had been so hard to give his relationship with Juliette another chance. But he had. He overcame that part of his personality, giving in to his heart's demands and he had never been happier. He wished that his father would do the same. Forgive Caroline. Accept her back into his life. He'd be a much happier man if he did.

Avery poured his milk and placed it in the microwave and let it heat up. Silence fell between the two men, until the beep of the microwave telling Avery that his milk was ready sounded. Careful not to burn himself, Avery removed the mug and went down to sit across from his father, who watched him warily.

"You know...I get why you're so pissed off at me for giving Juliette another chance. I'm going against all the instincts you've handed down to me."

"You're being downright stupid, if you ask me," Carl snorted, glaring down at the table.

"I don't think so. I mean...at first, I did listen to that part of my mind that said to stay far away and not let her get close again. That she'd hurt me again, just like the first time...and the second time. And when she made it clear that she still loved me and wanted to try again...I did reject her. Instead of going to her, I started up a relationship with Layla Grant, something I had no business doing. It wasn't fair to me or to her, because I only did it to stop myself from going back to Juliette because I was scared of being hurt again."

"What happened? Obviously she slithered her way back into your good graces."

"Dad," Avery sighed, wishing that his father would just see Juliette in the same way he saw her. Or at least accepted that she was his choice.

"Well she did. Just answer the question."

"She proved herself to me. She proved that she was better and was ready to be the mother that Cadence deserved...and she stopped trying to force a reconciliation. In fact, we became friends again...and then when her plane crashed...well even before that...I couldn't hide from the truth anymore. I was still deeply in love with her and I wanted to be with her. Not only for Cadence, but for myself as well. So I pushed aside that fear of being hurt and disappointed again and went back to her and I've been happy ever since.

"It's going to work out this time, I know it. Dad, the point is, I stopped letting my fear rule me. Because of my fear, I almost missed out on a great woman and giving my daughter a whole family. But I pushed that fear aside and I have almost everything I've ever wanted. A home and a mother for Cadence. The love of my life, because that's what Juliette is. No matter what, she's it for me. I know that now, more than ever. I would have missed out on so much if I held on to that anger and fear."

Carl listened to his son's words. He had to admit, what Avery was saying sounded like what he had been doing for all these years and was still doing. He was holding on to his fear and anger, not wanting to be hurt by his daughter again. Not wanting to give her a chance to rip his heart out. But unlike his son, he just didn't think he had enough courage to risk another chance.

"Just think about what I said," Avery took a sip of his milk.

"I hope you are right about that girl, Avery," Carl decided to switch the subject to Juliette. "Of course, I don't trust her. But I hope for your sake that she is trustworthy."

"She is."

Carl just gave a derisive sort before getting to his feet. "We shall see about that. Good night, son."

"At least promise me that you'll be civil to her. Juliette really is trying."

"I'll be civil to her. I can't promise about Caroline and her hoodlum, but I'll promise about Juliette. I'll try to treat her like I had that sweet Scarlett girl. How is she by the way?"

"Great. She's back with Gunnar now and they have a band together."

"That's nice. She's a good one, that Scarlett. Too damn bad that you went and let her go. Twice."

"Dad..."

"I'm just saying. She was a good match. She wouldn't have hurt you like the other one did."

Avery sighed and shook his head. It was obvious that no matter what he said, or how much he explained his choice, his father would never understand. He refused to see all the good that Juliette has done. How much she made him happy.

"She would have. With how she felt about Gunnar, if we had stayed together...she would eventually. Those two were meant to be, just like me and Juliette. And yes, Juliette had hurt me too, but it wouldn't be like that with Scarlett. I know Juliette loved me and her betrayal was her self sabotaging herself. With Scarlett...it would be because she was in love with someone other than me. There's a big difference."

"And what makes you think that Juliette won't self sabotage again? Again taking you and that precious baby down with her?"

"Because I can read her now. I know the signs and...we talk more now than we've ever have before. We're more honest with each other and communicate. So I can get what's going on in that head of hers and she gets what's going through mine. Our relationship is more healthier now than it's ever been and that's why I believe in us, dad. Because this time, it really does feel different. It feels...real."

"I just hope that you know what you're doing trusting that girl."

"I do. I know exactly what I'm doing. For once, the right thing. This time, we're doing it right. You'll see."

Carl Barkley looked at his son, who had a serene smile on his face as he sipped his milk. He had to admit, the young man looked happier than he's ever seen him. Peaceful almost. Sure in his decision to give his relationship with Juliette another chance. He, himself, still didn't trust the girl. That may never change, but as long as his son kept that smile, maybe he could work on being a little bit nicer to her.


	20. Chapter 20

It was early noon when the rest of the Barkley clan began to arrive. Juliette stood in a far forgotten corner, simply watching people arrive and greet Carl and Sandra as they entered the house. She couldn't help but be a little envious. It seemed like as a whole, the Barkley's were a close knit family and seemed genuinely happy to see one another. Where she was from, families like this didn't exist. Her grandparents had long disappeared from her life by time she was thirteen and any extended family she had avoided her and her mother like the plague...that was until she had become an up and coming singer, but by then she had been so bitter and jaded, she had wanted nothing to do with the family that had abandoned her and her mother and she still didn't.

So it was interesting to see how the Barkley's as a whole came together since she didn't have any of this growing up.

"Do you feel like we're in an episode of Growing Pains or Family Ties?" Rocky came to stand next to her, taking her by surprise. Caroline and her husband and stayed sequestered in her old room since breakfast had ended. Juliette was beginning to wonder if they would ever show.

"I take it that your extended family wasn't close either?" Juliette asked, scanning the room for any sign of Avery, who had said he'd be down to join her after he got Cadence changed.

"My immediate family isn't close," Rocky snorted, folding his arms over his chest. "We definitely weren't like this. Carly's old man hates me already, I dread finding out what their opinion is."

"Look at it this way. At least all of your mistakes weren't televised," Juliette shrugged, feeling relieved as Avery came down with Cadence in his arms. She was beginning to suspect that he was going to stay up there until dinner.

"Hey," Avery nodded at Rocky as he joined them and slipped Cadence into Juliette's waiting arms. "Has anyone said anything yet?"

"Nope. I've been hiding over here, quiet and hopefully unnoticeable," Juliette kissed her daughter's chubby cheek. "What took you so long?"

"Diaper explosion. That is all you need to know."

"Oh no. I hope that was only a one time thing...maybe this is too much for her. Or she's sick and I can just take care of her upstairs away from everyone..."

"She's fine. She doesn't even have a fever," Avery hated to block her attempt to escape the evening, but he had to. He wanted his family to get to know Juliette. The real Juliette, not the starlet they see in the media. The only way that would happen is if they sat down and had a real conversation with her over some good food. This dinner would accomplish that, but for it to work, he needed Juliette in attendance. Not up hiding up in his old room.

Juliette just pouted in response, not happy that Avery had read her so easily. He was getting better and better at doing just that. Soon, she won't be able to get away with anything at all. Not that she'd want to. She wouldn't trade trade the good place her relationship with him was in for anything. Even if it meant avoiding a roomful of curious relatives. "So, where is Caroline? I am sure that Rocky could use the support."

Avery shrugged. He had not seen his sister since the night before. He hoped that she wasn't planning to spend the whole time in her room. That was not what they had come for. "I have no idea. Maybe she's still in her room. Sometimes she gets overwhelmed during these family dinners. I doubt that now would be any different...except she's back after staying away for so long. Put that together with dad barely speaking to her, that'd be enough to send her for the hills."

"Maybe I should go look for her," Rocky frowned, not liking the idea of wandering a strange house full of people that he didn't know.

"Or I can. You can stay and keep Juliette company," Avery suggested, unaware that he had just been spotted by a thin middle aged woman with graying blond hair until she was upon him, wrapping him in a awkward hug.

"Avery! Give your Aunt Greta a hug! Look at what a handsome young man you have grown into! I haven't seen you in years!" The woman gushed, pulling away to take a good look at her brother's son. "The very image of your father!"

Avery was nearly speechless. He had not been expecting this spontaneous greeting at all. He looked towards Juliette for help, but she just smiled and shrugged, obviously enjoying this way too much.

"Aunt Greta," He forced a smile, having to think of the name real quick. He hadn't seen the woman since he had graduated from high school.

"I haven't seen you since your high school graduation. You were a lot scrawnier then," The woman chuckled. "Now look at you. A young man with the Barkley good looks!"

"Aunt Greta, let me introduce my fiancee, Juliette Barnes and our daughter Cadence," Avery decided to pull Juliette into this, whether she liked it or not. "You've probably heard of her...she's..."

"That singer who doesn't believe in god, I know who she is."

Juliette frowned. "Excuse me?"

"She didn't even apologize," Greta sniffed, obviously not happy with her nephew's choice of mate.

Juliette felt her heart sink, realizing what the woman had been talking about. She couldn't believe that was coming back to bite her now. It had been a dark time in her life, a dark time that Avery had seen her through with a friendship that turned into the greatest love of her life. She had thought that she had moved beyond that, but obviously some people were hanging on to old grudges.

"Aunt Greta, that whole thing was a misunderstanding and Juliette has nothing to apologize for. in fact...," Avery began, but Juliette stopped him by placing a hand on his shoulder. He had defended her enough over the topic. She was going to stand up for herself, one more time. Avery shouldn't have to fight this battle for her. Not anymore.

"Look, my words were misconstrued. I never said that there was no god. I believe in god, that belief was what had carried me through my depression and that plane crash. Yes, I made a mistake by having an affair, but that was a mistake I had owned up to. I am done being vilified for that and for words I had never said. Like Avery said, I have nothing to apologize for."

"Greta, leave the girl alone! I've told you a thousand times that you can't believe those rags you love to read so much," Carl came up and stood behind his sister, his arms folded.

The woman sputtered with indignation, then turned around and walked away, leaving both Avery and Juliette shocked that Carl had come to her rescue. Neither had been expecting that.

"Um, thanks dad," Avery finally managed to find the words he needed to say.

"My sister is into those gossip rags way too much. Ignore her," was Carl's gruff reply. "And go find your sister. People want to see her."

Both Juliette and Avery watched Carl return to his guests before looking at each other, both surprised.

"Was that your dad? Defending me?" Juliette stared, her mind blown.

"I know...I mean, he said he was going to take it easy on you, but I wasn't expecting that," Avery chuckled, feeling like things may be okay after all.

"That's great for the both of you, but where is my wife?" Rocky frowned, still feeling like a fish out of water. Especially now, seeing how Juliette had just been treated. He had a feeling that he can expect worse and that Carl Barkley won't be coming to his defense.

"I'll go find her," Avery offered, wrapping an arm around his wife's waist. "You should come with me. I don't want you to get ambushed like that again. Especially when I'm not with you."

"That sounds good to me," Juliette smiled lifting her lips for him to give her a quick kiss, just as Caroline walked through the front door.

"Thank god, there she is," Rocky waved her over, feeling relieved that he wasn't going to be left on his own.

"Where have you been?" Avery asked as Caroline reached them. He had to admit, she was looking very overwhelmed.

"I wanted to take a long walk before the shooting gallery arrived," Caroline walked into her husband's arms. "I see that I came back just to walk right into the lion's den."

"Your father stood up for Juliette just a while ago. You missed it," Rocky gave her a quick kiss.

"Oh good. She's in his good graces, but that doesn't help us any."

"Sadly, you're right. It doesn't. If you want to make things right with dad, you have to do what I did last night. Talk to him. Make him see your side of it. He's pretty reasonable when he sees you as an adult and not a child throwing a tantrum."

"Avery, whose side are on?"

"I'm on Juliette's side. That's the only side I need to be on, but as your brother and for momma's sake, talk to him. Come to some kind of understanding. Make him see that it's different this time. That you're not going to break his heart again. You know that's what's standing between you two."

"He doesn't care about me."

"Of course he does. He loves you. He's just afraid of being hurt again so he's keeping you locked out. Make him open the door again. Stop treating Rocky as a rebellion and as a husband and let dad and the others get to know him. Stay around after we all leave."

"Avery!"

"I know, it'll be hard, but it'll let dad see that you're serious. You're always welcomed in Nashville, you know that. But I really think that you should stay here for at least another week or so. At least to visit momma."

"He has a point, babe," Rocky agreed.

Caroline sighed. She really didn't want to stay longer than she had to. But she did want to repair things with her parents somehow. "I am not going to make any promises. I am not the only one that needs to try."

"I know and thank you," Avery smiled, happy to get that much from his sister.

"Avery dear! Bring Juliette and Cadence to meet your Aunt Judy!"Sandra called over, a bright smile on her face. "And bring your sister and her husband as well!"

Avery gave a tight smile and turned to Caroline and Rocky. "Here we go. Ready?"

"As ready as I am ever going to be mate," Rocky nodded, taking a deep breath, pushing all nervousness to the back of his mind.

"Yeah, let's get this over with," Juliette smiled, putting on the smile she used when she had to do a press conference for an interview.

...

Dinner was a loud, talkative affair. Juliette found herself sitting between Avery and his mother, baby Cadence was on her lap where Juliette fed soft foods that were easy for her to eat. She answered the curious questions, nothing too invasive or inappropriate, but enough that told everyone who she was really and allowed them to see that she really was just a down to earth girl who happened to sing for a living. Who had problems, like everyone else, but found the strength to overcome them.

For Caroline, it was different. People asked her where she had been in all these years, what she was doing, who she was with. They interrogated poor Rocky and by the end of the dinner, there were still questions left unanswered. Avery felt sorry for his sister, but he was certain that after everyone had gone home and it was just Caroline and their parents, things would begin to mend somehow. At least he hoped so.

But for now on, that was a problem between Caroline and their parents. He and Juliette would be on their own first thing in the morning, when they returned to Nashville. He loved his parents, but he couldn't wait to be back home again.

Home. He shook his head in amazement. One time, this house, this city and state...it had once been home to him. The place that held the people and things he loved. But for the past several years, that had all changed. Now home was Nashville Tennessee. The place where music lived. The place that held his friends and people he thought of as family. The people and things that shaped his life. His parents house, it was a memory. A remnant of the past. Nashville was the place where he had found Juliette and a job he loved. The city where his daughter was born and had so many people that knew and loved her. That was home for him now. That was where his future existed.

"What are you thinking about?" Juliette walked away from the baby bed now that Cadence was fast asleep, exhausted from her busy day of meeting people that she'll probably ever see once a year if ever again.

It was the middle of the night. The family had all retreated to their separate parts of the house. Avery and Juliette was back in his old room, getting ready to turn in for the night. Avery was hoping to get an early start in the morning.

"How it is going to just be the two of us on the way back to Nashville tomorrow," Avery pulled off his shirt and tossed it in the bedside chair, too tired to fold it.

"So Caroline's staying?"

"It appears so. Hopefully she'll do what I did last night. Talk to dad. Make him see her side. Make him see that he doesn't have to be afraid anymore."

Already dressed in her favorite pajamas, Juliette slipped between the covers and watched as Avery pulled off the dress pants he had worn for the dinner. She couldn't help but admire him. He really was a beautiful man. She didn't know how she had gotten so lucky to have his love, but she was going to make sure that she didn't do anything to lose it again.

"I'm surprised how he came to my defense earlier. I wasn't expecting that at all."

"Neither was I to be honest. I mean, he said that he was going to be more civil, but I was not expecting that. I'm glad he did, though. It showed that he was actually listening to me...that he wasn't just humoring me. It's why I feel that Caroline needs to stick around and show proof that she really is serious about working things out.

"Last night, I realized that dad and I are alike in so many ways...and that's why it was hard for me to come back to you after you returned from rehab. Dad and I...we don't like being hurt. We put up walls that are hard to come down. We don't take second chances lightly. We both are afraid of broken hearts, so we throw up the walls to keep from getting hurt. With me, it was you. For dad, it's Caroline. I didn't beat my fear until I sat down with you and we really talked and was honest with one another. I think that's what Caroline and dad need to do and they can't do that in one night with a house full of people. They need time and Caroline needs to be here and in one place so dad can see that she's serious and there's nothing to be afraid of. She needs to climb his walls, just like you climbed mine."

Juliette smiled and reached up to cup his face, her eyes meeting his. "It was a hard wall to climb. I nearly broke my neck trying to scale it...but it was worth it. The journey up and over was worth the love and happiness I feel now. I hope that Caroline can achieve the same with your dad."

"I do too," Avery returned her smile before leaning down to claim her lips that turned into something a whole lot more.


	21. Chapter 21

_Two Months Later..._

It's been two months since the trip to Ohio. Once Avery and Juliette had returned to Nashville, life had settled in to a comfortable loll. It was like it had used to be, when they had first gotten together. There was an easiness between them that hadn't been there in a long long time. It seemed like was no more disagreements to be had. No dissatisfaction to share and iron out. The unhappiness that had lead to their divorce and to Layla was gone completely.

So it was a surprise to Juliette when she woke up, thinking that everything was too good to be true.

Really, it shouldn't be a surprise. This was her ammunition. Things would be going great. She would have everything she could ever want and then she'd find a reason to sabotage it and send her life wheeling back out of control. Last time, it was the depression. It hadn't been her fault. But the dalliance with Jeff had been. By all rights, she should have lost Avery for good. If it hadn't been for the pregnancy and Avery being willing to stand by her side and let go of hurt feelings, she probably would have lost him for good.

Then things had been going well. Their love refused to be ignored and they had gotten married. Then she had gotten sick and that made her whole life go down the drain. But again, Avery saw that she had been sick and was working to get better and gave her another chance. This time, it looked like it was going to stick. She had Avery and Cadence and everything was going to be fine.

That was until she woke up that Saturday morning, looked at the peacefully sleeping Avery and somehow just knew that things couldn't last. Nothing this good ever did. She never allowed it to.

Ignoring the sick feeling she had in the pit of her stomach, she got up and prepared for the day, beginning with a warm shower, hoping that it would make her feel better and wash away this feeling of gloom and doom that seemed to be hanging over her.

It didn't. If anything it made the feeling worse. She even caught herself thinking of ways to distance herself from Avery. Things that the old Juliette would do, like going clubbing and flirting with every guy she ran across in the clubs. Pretending that Avery and Cadence didn't exist and return to her single days. It wouldn't be that hard to do and she could pretend like she didn't know that she was doing anything wrong.

She could go on another spur of the moment tour without her husband and child and do interviews that failed to mention them once. She had done that once before, but this time she wouldn't have postpartum depression to blame it on.

Or she could just find some random guy and bed him. That would send Avery running for the hells for sure.

With all kinds of thoughts of ways to sabotage her relationship with Avery running through her head, Juliette made her way down to the kitchen, thinking that maybe putting on some strong coffee and making breakfast will keep her from acting upon them. It was really bothering her. She couldn't understand it. She was in the healthiest place than she's ever been before and she was plotting to destroy it. For no good reason.

She had just cracked an egg and let it drop into the pan when two arms encircled her waist, startling her. She turned around to find a smiling Avery, wide awake and obviously in a good mood from the looks of it.

"You scared me," she scalded, turning back to the bubbling mess in the pot. "I hope that I didn't get shells in the egg."

"Sorry. Just wanted to say good morning to my beautiful baby mama," Avery chuckled, kissing the back of her neck, expecting her to relax, but to his surprise she remained as tense as a board. "I didn't think I'd scare you that badly."

Juliette shrugged, cracking another egg. "I was busy, that's all."

"This early in the morning? Frying eggs?"

Juliette shrugged. "Cooking doesn't really come easily, remember?"

Avery frowned. There was something in her voice that he didn't like. Something that sounded familiar. She sounded almost far away. Like she was trying to put distance between them. "What's wrong? Did I do something?"

"No, you didn't do anything," Juliette shook her head, not knowing how to put words to what she was feeling, but knowing that she couldn't hide it. She had to make Avery understand somehow. That had been their agreement, to always be open with one another. But it was so hard, especially when she woke up having the thoughts that she was having. What was he going to think of her?

"Well then why do I feel like you're a thousand miles away right now?" Avery sighed, reaching to turn off the stove so he could have all of her attention. Their relationship was too important to him to just let this go and hope things got better on their own. They had agreed to keep communication open and he was going to hold them both to that agreement.

"Avery, I'm cooking. Don't you want breakfast?" Juliette frowned, wanting to hold off the coming discussion, even though she knew that it had to be had.

"Breakfast can wait. Whatever this new thing is cannot. I mean...when we got back together, we had an agreement, remember? If there's something bothering us or if there's something going on, we talk about it with each other. We stay open with one another because that's the only way that this is going to work. And I want this to work, Juliette. I love you, more than I've ever loved anyone and getting over you...I don't even think it's possible. So I want to make it work with you. And talking is the only way I can think of to accomplish that."

Juliette didn't know what to say. She stared down at her sock encased feet and blinked back the threatening tears. "I don't know..."

"You don't know what?"

She took a deep breath and wrapped her arms around herself and shrugged. "How to talk about...how I've been feeling this morning. I don't know how to put it into words without sounding crazy."

"How about you try. Start by telling me how you feel right now?"

"What would that accomplish?"

"Well, it's a start. Maybe it'll lead to what you need to say," Avery shrugged. He gently gripped her shoulders and made her look into his eyes, wanting her to see that she could trust him. She could tell him what this was and he wouldn't get mad. "Just tell me."

"Fine. I feel...scared and helpless," Juliette admitted, avoiding Avery's eyes, feeling ashamed for feeling such a way.

"Scared? Why? What did I do?"

"It's not what you did. It's...it's me. You remember what I told you about sabotaging myself when I'm too happy? Well, things have been so perfect lately...too perfect and this morning I woke up feeling like it couldn't possibly last and that I should get out before I get hurt...and...I've been having all these thoughts about how I could end this so I wouldn't get hurt. It's what I had always done in the past and it scared me, because...what if I can't stop myself. What if it's inevitable that I do something to ruin this and..."

"Hey, stop," Avery released her shoulders and gently cupped her face with steady hands. He knew he had been reading her right and he was relieved that he made her open up about what was bothering her. "Look, it's not inevitable. You're not out of control. If you were, you wouldn't be talking to me now. You would have already done the things you were thinking about...but you didn't. Instead, you kept yourself under control and now you're letting me know what's in that head of yours."

"What if I can't stop myself?"

"You already have. And you kept to our agreement and told me what was going on with you."

Juliette sighed and shook her head, still not willing to let herself off the hook. "You had to make me, remember?"

"You still told me. I didn't have to try too hard to drag it out of you."

"I don't even know why I woke up feeling like this."

"You already said. Things were going too good. You panicked."

Juliette looked into his eyes and just let her tears flow. She couldn't understand why he was still being so good to her. Who did this? Who wanted to throw everything away just because things were so good at the moment? It didn't make any sense.

"I don't deserve any of this."

"That is the problem right there. You keep thinking that you don't deserve this, but you do. After everything you went through with your mom and in your career, of course you deserve this. You just have to accept it and tell that voice in your head telling you that you don't to shut up."

"Well that's easier said than done."

Avery pulled her into a warm embrace, wanting her to feel secure and safe with him. Wanting to finally get it into her head that he wasn't going to let her mess this up. He was here for the good and the bad. He just needed her to be open about the bad.

"That's why I'm here. To help you tell that voice to shut up."

"I keep doing this. I don't know why."

"Maybe you need help. Maybe we both do. We can go to couples counseling. See why you have that urge and how to deal with it."

"Or maybe I'll just go. After all, I am the only one wanting to throw everything to the wolves. There's no need to punish yourself for how messed up I am."

Avery pulled away a little and looked into her eyes. "Hey, it's not a punishment. It's just a way to help you cope and hopefully cure that urge to self destruct. It helped with the depression, I'm sure that it'll help this as well. Besides, a little couples counseling couldn't hurt."

Juliette looked away, not knowing how to respond. She was so lucky to have him. He actually understood and wanted to help her. He wasn't going to let her go through this alone. Maybe counseling would help. Maybe it'll give her some tools to better handle this part of her mind. She loved Avery and Cadence and didn't want to hurt them and if going to see a shrink would help her keep from doing that, she was all for it.

"Okay. That sounds good. I'll call Emily and have her make an appointment. Or maybe I can get the one that Rayna and Deacon used. He seemed to have helped them a lot..."

"I'm fine with whoever you choose, baby. Just as long as they really help us."

Juliette smiled, feeling the tears leave her eyes. "I love you. I am so sorry for being so messed up..."

"Don't be. Just keep talking and letting me know when you get these urges and thoughts so I can help you through them. That's all I ask," Avery kissed her forehead just as Cadence began to cry. "Why don't you go check on our girl and I finish breakfast."

"That sounds like a feasible plan," Juliette chuckled, stepping out of his arms after kissing one more time. "I love you..."

"I love you too. Now go, before she brings the whole house down. She gets pretty loud if left to wait too long."

"I guess she gets that from her momma," Juliette chuckled.

"I suppose she does," Avery had to laugh as well. He watched her leave the kitchen and stepped up to the stove, feeling a sense of relief. Life with Juliette was indeed going to be a roller coaster ride, but he wouldn't have it any other way. He loved all of her. The sane and insane parts. That was how he knew that the love he felt for her was real. Not even her flaws could keep him away. Not for good anyway.

It was funny. He used to wonder why his mother loved his father so much, despite the man's flaws. Only now did he understand. When you love someone the way he loved Juliette and the way his mother loved his father, the flaws didn't seem insurmountable. They were a challenge if anything else. If his challenge was to keep Juliette from self destructing and accept that she was deserving of the good things their love brought, well that was a challenge he was willing to accept.


	22. Chapter 22

_One Month Later..._

Avery grinned as he looked out over the crowd. It had been another successful gig. He and the band had managed to get a spot at The Barrista, and it was awesome! He had never felt more at peace than he did on stage. It was where he truly belonged. Not in a studio, producing for other artists, but here on a stage, playing his own music for a crowd of people.

But fate seemed to have other plans for him and he had learned to roll with the punches and accept what he was given. Which was great. He had a good, happy life. He and Juliette were better than ever now. Their lines of communication was clear and any problems or mishaps were quickly cleared up, giving them a happy and drama free relationship and Cadance a happy momma and daddy.

Music was the other love of his life, though, but if this was all he could have, producing and playing small gigs here and there, he'll happily take it.

"That's it for tonight fellas. Let's pack up," He turned to his fellow band members, who happily nodded and began to put away their instruments.

Feeling hungry, he packed up his instruments and then went to the counter to order a quick salad. He usually didn't hang around after a gig, but his rumbling stomach wouldn't take no for an answer. He was just finishing the salad and was looking forward to going home to spend a quiet evening with his girls when he was approached by Billy Tucci, a manager that frequented places like the Blue Bird and the Barrista. He remembered back in the day, when he had high hopes of being noticed by the man. But that had been another life. His dreams of making it big as an musical artist was mostly gone.

"Avery Barkley," the man greeted, sliding into the seat across from him, as if they were old friends catching up.

"Mr. Tucci, hello," Avery gave an uncertain smile, not sure what this man could want with him. Maybe he had a question about Juliette, or had an artist that was in need of a producer.

"I forgot that you could sing. That's quite a voice that you have there."

Avery had to admit, he was surprised by the compliment. It's been a long time since anyone had taken special notice of his voice. He had always been his songwriting, producing, or his skill with the guitar. "Thank you, sir. It's one of my favorite things, but it's more of a hobby now than anything."

"Well if you want it to be more than a hobby, here's my card. Give me a call and set up a meeting. I know of some people that'd love to put that voice out there for more people to hear."

Surprise was not the word for how Avery felt right then. Billy Tucci was one of Nashville's biggest managers. His clients always gets national attention, record deals, commercials, you name it, he got it for them. To be represented by him...that would be an old dream come true!

"I'll give it some thought, thank you sir," Avery accepted the card, his eyes unable to leave the broad print.

That tiny card...it represented so much more than just a long wished for opportunity. It represented the future. Now he could be more than Juliette's baby daddy! He can start pulling his weight more and take care of his family! He had to chuckle, because he knew Juliette would take exception to the notion of being taken care of, but it'd be so nice to know that he could do so, if need be.

Excited, he got up, paid for his salad, and headed for home, the card safely tucked away in his jacket pocket. He had a lot to think about. Did he really want this opportunity? After all, it would take time away from Cadance and Juliette, time that he loved. But it would give him success in doing what he loved.

He wanted to make the right decision and the only way to do that was talk it over with Juliette. Maybe together, they could come up with the next step to take. After all, this was her future as well as his. It was something that they should decide on together.

...

Juliette paced the floor as she held the reciever her ear, her heart sinking as Glenn told her that if she didn't get back into the studio soon, her fans will assume that she was never coming back. He needed her to start recording again.

"I understand, but Glenn...I am not sure that I am ready. I know, it's been months since the crash, but I just don't feel that it's time yet."

"Juliette, I love ya. So do your fans, but they won't wait forever. Plus there's a rumor that Luke is selling the label, so I suggest that you get back to work and give the new owners a reason to keep you on."

She squeezed her eyes shut, feeling herself give in. She didn't really know why she was so reluctant to return to recording music. Things were going so well at home with Avery and Cadence and her old bad habits were nowhere to be found. But what if they came back once she was back in the studio? That life had been a part of the old Juliette and she just felt like a new person now. She was done singing about boys and parties. She wanted to sing something deeper...like the songs she had written with Deacon a few years back. But she didn't know how to convey that to Glenn and she didn't even know what she was looking for when it came to something deeper.

"I understand, Glenn. But...I am in a different place now and I don't know what that means. Until I do, I just can't see myself in the studio."

"Well at least try? That is all I am asking. Maybe Avery can help, you two do good work together."

"Maybe...I'll have to discuss it with him," Juliette sighed, her slight frown turning into a smile as Avery came through the door. Her smile deepened as he walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Speaking of, he just walked in. I'll talk to you later, Glenn."

"You will think about what I said?" Glenn pressed, wanting a more positive answer.

"I will. I promise. Besides, you're probably right. It is time. I have been putting it off for far too long."

"Good. Well, have a good night. Tell Avery hello for me."

"Of course," Juliette hung up the phone and tossed it over on the living room table, before turning around to wrap her arms around Avery's neck and lifted her eyes to meet his. "So how was your night?"

"Great. It felt great playing on stage again. It's making me realize some things. I'm better at writing and singing than at producing," Avery chuckled, lowering his lips to hers for a lingering kiss.

"Mmm, I don't know. You're a pretty good producer. You did great with me."

"But not with everyone else. I've never finished an album or the person I'm working with turns out to be out of their mind crazy. But tonight, upon that stage...it was like coming home. I belong up there."

"Well if that's what you want to do, babe do it. You know you have my full support in whatever you decide to do."

"That's good to know, because something happened after the gig. I am still in shock..."

"What?"

Avery released her so he could pull Billy's card out of his pocket. "I was approached by Billy Tucci..."

"He's a manager, right? I've heard Glenn mention him. He said his clients always have work and become well known..."

"He wants to meet with me. I seem to have impressed him."

Juliette squealed and hugged him tight, happy for him. If anyone deserved success, it was Avery! He loved music and was so talented! She always thought that he should have more offers and opportunities than he did. It made her happy to know that it was finally happening.

"Babe, this is great! I am so happy for you! So when is the meeting?"

Avery shrugged and walked over the couch and sat down. "Don't know. I mean...should I even be thinking about it?"

"Of course you should. Why wouldn't you? You deserve this. You're a great producer and you were the best guitar player I ever had. But that talent should go to helping you reach your own dreams, not some one else's. Don't you think it's time?"

"Maybe. It's just...so much has happened. I didn't even know that it was possible after all that had happened...and what if it happens again? I mean, if I'm going to do this, I want it to be on my terms. I want it to be music I believe in and I want it to sound like me, not some machine, you know?"

"I do. I understand perfectly. You want it to mean something and you want it to be you. That is very understandable. I feel the same way. I think all artists do."

"The last time...they wanted me to be something that I'm not and sound like some one I didn't even want to know. I couldn't go through with it and not only had I lost friends, but I ended up getting blacklisted. What if that happens again?"

"It won't. For one, Billy is known for listening to his clients and helping them get with labels and companies that will work with them. He tailors everything to his clients personality and choices. That's why he's so good. Not to mention, you were naive back then. You didn't know how these labels worked. Now you do. You are aware of all their tricks and schemes and they can't do anything that you don't want them to and you have Billy who will stand up for you. I think that you should at least meet with him. See what he has to say. You don't have to commit to anything."

"I don't know...there's other things to consider as well. If I do go through with this...that means less time with you and Cadance. I love music...but I love the both of you more...I don't want to do anything that would take me away from you."

"It won't. Cadance will be fine and as for me, well Glenn wants me to get back into the studio as well. He thinks the fans will move on if I don't return soon. So I'll be busy as well. We'll be okay, babe. We'll work it out and at the end of the day or the tours or the gigs, we'll be here waiting for each other. We can be the Beyonce and Jay-z of Nashville if we're not careful."

Avery had to laugh. "Well, you are already a diva. I just need to get to the Jay-z part."

"That shouldn't be too hard," Juliette snorted. "Look, let's make a deal. You go meet with Billy and I'll meet with Glenn about my inevitable comeback. Then we'll both have something going."

"You are going to insist that I sit up a meeting, aren't you?"

"You'd do the same for me."

Avery chuckled and gave her another quick kiss. "Alright. I'll call tomorrow and see what Billy has to say. And what is this about you and Glenn? Why did I sense a hint of reluctance in your voice?"

Juliette shrugged and leaned back onto the cushions. "He wants me to return to the studio asap."

"You don't want to?"

"It's not that I don't want to. It's just that...the last time I was in the studio...it felt like I was a different person than what I am now. I have dealt with all the issues that had been plaguing me then and it just feels like I'm taking a step backwards. If I go back...I need new material. I need songs that reflect where I'm at now. I am no longer, that sad, apologetic creature fresh out of rehab. I am actually in a happy place now. I have my daughter, I have my man, I have my career...I love my life right now. I want the world to know, you know?"

"Well tell the world. Write songs that say I am happy and everything is good. Get with Glenn and tell him you need a time frame."

"I need a song. I haven't even been working on anything."

"No better time than the present. I can even help, if you want."

"I thought you were going to work on making your dreams come true. Not mine."

Avery shrugged. "Well, we're a couple. We share dreams don't we? I want to help you, just like I know you'd want to help me."

"We do write great songs together," Juliette chuckled, reaching over to twirl her fingers in his hair. "We are great together...would you? Help me write my next spat of songs? It shouldn't take long since you have a lot to do with my state of mind these days."

"All you have to do is ask," Avery smiled, feeling happy and relaxed. It was just like the early days of their relationship, where their friendship began to grow into something deeper than either of them had ever experienced before.

"Will you help me write some songs for my new album?" She asked, playfully batting her eyelashes.

"Of course! For a price of course," Avery grinned, just as Cadance woke up with a tiny whimper.

"A price?"

"Yeah. You get diaper duty for the next month," Avery laughed, just to recieve a playful punch from Juliette before she got up to retrieve their daughter from bed.

She returned two minutes later with a hungry Cadance in her arms. "Fine. Only if you get up with her during the nights when she wakes up teething."

"Deal. It'll be like old times, back at Uncle Gunnar's house," Avery winked, taking the baby out of her arms and kissing the child's nose.

Juliette watched the two people that she loved more than anything in the world and felt at peace. This moment...when it was just the three of them and she watched the love of her life with their daughter, this brought up a feeling that she wanted for her first song. A feeling of warmth, peace, and well being.

"This moment...this is my song."

Avery looked at her with an understanding that only a fellow musician could share and nodded. "We'll see what we can do."

 _(A/N: The last and this chapter are not the last chapters. The end is approaching, but it's not here yet. Also, I'm sorry for the long stretch in updates. My motivation to write has been lacking for all of my stories lately. Hopefully I can get back on track with more regular updates soon. Thank you for your patience and for reading:) )_


	23. Chapter 23

Avery shifted Cadence in his arms, as he stood on the doorstep of Gunnar's house. He had been so busy with gigs, meeting with his new manager and different labels, and spending time with Juliette and helping her with songs for her new album that he had become a neglectful friend. So he decided to take the day off and spend it catching up with old friends. He kind of felt out of the loop. He did know that the exes were filming a video, but that had been a while ago.

"Are you ready to see Uncle Gunnar and Uncle Will? I bet they'll be excited to see you," Avery grinned at his babbling daughter before ringing the doorbell.

He expected a smiling Will or Gunnar to open the door, happy and ready to share what they've been up to all this time. What he didn't expect was an unsmiling, Gunnar who had obviously not been happy in the past few days and a quiet house.

"Hey, up for a visit from your favorite girl here?" Avery asked, hoping that his first impression wasn't the right one.

"At least she's one girl that's happy to see me," Gunnar sighed, opening the door to let them in. "Come on in."

Avery frowned, wondering what had happened this time. Scarlett and Gunnar had seemed so happy the last time he had seen them. At least they had been together anyway.

"What happened now, may I ask?" Avery followed his friend into the living room, curious. It saddened him to see his friend like this. He had thought that the hard times were over for Scarlett and Gunnar and that they were just as happy together as he was with Juliette. Obviously, that had been a wrong assessment.

"It's a long story. May I get you a beer or something? Some juice for Cadence?"

"We're fine. We just thought we'd drop by for a visit with you guys. Where's Scarlett and Will?"

"Will is at highway sixty five at the moment and Scarlett...probably off with that director that did our video somewhere. All I know is that she's not here...and she's not with me," Gunnar sighed, taking a seat across from his guests, looking anywhere but at Avery. He knew it was wrong, but he wasn't in the mood to see happy people in happy relationships right now, even though he knew that Avery deserved the happiness after the past year he had.

Avery frowned, not getting what he was being told. What did Gunnar mean by Scarlett not being with him. "What do you mean that she's not with you?"

Gunnar sighed, running a hand through his hair, feeling even more depressed just thinking about the past few weeks. He didn't know how to explain it. Everything had happened so fast, he hadn't even seen it coming to tell the truth.

"She decided that she wanted to sleep with our director, so she broke up with me."

"What? But...that's impossible. This is Scarlett we're talking about. She loves you man!"

Gunnar snorted. "Well, according to her, she feels nothing for me right now."

"What? But...you two got fired off Autumn's tour because she insisted that she was in love with you! How can he go from being in love with you to not being in love with you at all? Just because of some strange attraction to a man he didn't even know? That doesn't sound very much like Scarlett."

"I know...but that's the situation. I don't know what to think...what to do...I don't even know what I did to cause the situation. I mean...we were having small problems about the past and the women I was with..."

"But you two were broken up at the time. Why would she be upset about that?"

Gunnar just shrugged, at a loss for the answer. "I don't know. I don't know anything anymore. Just that...I'm hurt and don't know what to do now."

Avery felt bad for his friend. It was strange to feel so happy and satisfied with his life when his best friend's life had fallen apart...and he hadn't even been there for moral support when it happened, he had been so busy with his own happiness. In a way, it made him feel rather selfish, almost as selfish as Scarlett was obviously being. Poor Gunnar. He didn't deserve this. Nobody did. What was with Scarlett? She definitely wasn't the girl he had came to Nashville with, that was for sure. That Scarlett would never have pulled something like this.

"I'm sorry, man," Avery shook his head, wishing that there were some magic words to say or something that he could do to make all of this better for his friend. This past year, if it hadn't been for Gunnar's friendship and support, there was no telling where he would have ended up.

"Why are you sorry? You didn't do anything," Gunnar frowned, confused by the apology.

"For what she did to you. That wasn't right...and for not being more present for you while you were going through this. I was too lost in my own world with Juliette when I should have..."

"Hey, don't be sorry, alright. I'm glad that things are good with Juliette. At least one of us is getting it right."

"You were getting it right too. It was Scarlett that messed up. I mean...what was the point? Telling you that she was in love with you? She should have just let you be with Autumn."

"I don't know. All that I know is that I'm alone and...miserable. I don't know what to do. Let her go and move on or fight for her. If I fight for her, she'll accuse me of not respecting her wishes and if I let her go and move on, she'll accuse me of not caring enough. I don't know man."

Avery shook his head, feeling angry for his friend. This wasn't right at all. Scarlett was playing head games and Gunnar didn't deserve that, no matter what he may or may not have done in the past. This definitely wasn't the same girl that he had once dated and thought to be in love with. He hated that he felt lucky at that moment. Juliette may be a diva and high strung at times...maybe even selfish and cruel at times as well. She was by no means perfect, but she had never played mind games with him, not like this. She had always taken responsibility for her mess ups and had never placed the blame squarely on his shoulders. The only time she had messed with him was when she was sick and even then...it wasn't so...thoughtless. How could Scarlett claim to be in love with Gunnar and then just out of the blue change her mind just because she was attracted to someone? It didn't make any sense.

"Maybe...maybe you should let her go, man. For your own sanity. Let her go for good and move on with your life. There are girls out there that would love to be with you and won't dump you just because they're attracted to some random director. It's obvious that Scarlett has changed and not for the better. It's probably best to cut your losses now."

Gunnar frowned, a little taken aback. He hadn't been expecting Avery to say such a thing. After all, he had once loved Scarlett too and had given Juliette chance after chance. Why shouldn't Scarlett have the same? "Would you let Juliette go if it was her?"

"I had to when she was sick. For Cadence's sake. I had a baby to think about. But Juliette...she never played with my heart the way Scarlett is playing with yours. She didn't claim to love me one week then change her mind when a new man showed up. When that Noah guy was in the picture, we were broken up both times. I can't hold that against her. When we were together, we were together. And she accepted her part of the blame when we did break up...most importantly...after seeing that I was trying to move on with Layla...even though it had hurt...she let me go. She wanted me to be happy, even if it wasn't with her."

Gunnar frowned and looked at his hands. "Scarlett hated seeing me with Autumn when I was on the verge of something with her, that was when Scarlett told me that she was in love with me and I believed her and ended things with Autumn. Now I wish...I don't know what I wish. I just...why doesn't she love me anymore, man?"

"I don't know why, man. I wish I did know. But what I do know is that you don't deserve this. You deserve to be happy. Just as happy as I am with Juliette. I know it's easy to say forget Scarlett and move on...but that's what you're going to have to do. Forget her and move on. Once and for all. No going back."

"Any idea on how to do that? Everything I have going right now kind of revolves around her, you know?"

"Get into your music. Write some songs that have nothing to do with her. In fact, you can help Juliette and me. Glenn is wanting her to start work on a new album and she needs some new songs. Maybe you two can work together. Billy wants me to get to work on my own thing, and it's kind of taking away the time I need to help her. But I wouldn't have to worry about that if you help her, you know?"

"I don't know, man..."

"Come on, you're good and Juliette can use the help and this will take your mind off of Scarlett. My girl is a handful, she'll keep you good and busy."

Gunnar looked at Avery and had to be amused. A million years ago, this man had been his rival for Scarlett's heart, but now he was his best friend and was willing to help him deal with his broken heart and spirit. One would never guess that there was a time where they hadn't liked each other much.

"Maybe I should take you up on that...that is if Juliette even wants the help. I think I'll let you broach the subject with her while I take in a couple of beers," Gunnar chuckled, willing to at least give it a try. Maybe staying busy and away from Scarlett would help.

"Great, I'll discuss it with her when I get home. And how about playing with one girl that will never break your heart instead of that beer. Trust me, alcohol and broken hearts are a bad combination," Avery grinned, handing Cadence to Gunnar, knowing that an armful of Cadence would be just the thing to bring a smile to his friend's face.

"I like that idea," Gunnar chuckled, placing the girl on his lap. "She certainly is my favorite girl right now."

"Yeah. Mine too...her and her momma."

...

Avery decided to let Gunnar spend the rest of the day caring for Cadence. Taking care of the baby will definitely keep all thoughts of Scarlett away. In the meantime, Avery was going to discuss his idea with Juliette. To be honest, he didn't know how she would feel about it. She and Gunnar didn't really know each other all that well and were barely friends. He was the link between them. But he couldn't think of a reason why she would refuse. She needed a songwriter and Gunnar needed to write songs for something that was Scarlett free. He couldn't see her saying no.

Entering the house, he found Juliette leafing through a catalogue of houses.

"Hey babe, what are you doing? Why are you looking at houses?" He walked over and peaked over her shoulder.

Juliette smiled as she looked at him from where she was sitting, her smile was bright and cheerful. "Looking at houses. I was thinking about that land I own and I began thinking. This house has so much hurt and pain in it's walls. It'd be nice to have something new...somewhere that no one but us have lived. So I was thinking to have a house built on that land. Something for our family. I'm just looking at houses to get some ideas."

"Wow," Avery took the chair next to hers, his mind reeling. He hadn't really thought about moving anywhere else. He was happy here and so was Cadence. He really had no issues. Memories of the past was never a problem, not for him anyway. "I hadn't really thought about moving out of this place. Do you think we really need to?"

"It'd be nice to have somewhere to start anew, don't you think?"

Avery shrugged. "I really haven't given it much thought. I've just been happy to be with you and Cadence. But if you feel like moving is something that we ought to do..."

"Well...it wouldn't be right away. For one, the house would have to be built from the ground up and there's really no big rush. Right now, it's just a thought. But it would be nice to have a house that's more child friendly. I'm thinking a big backyard for Cadence to run and play and have birthday parties!"

Avery laughed and kissed her cheek, liking the image of a older Cadence at a birthday party attended by all of her friends. "I like that."

"Speaking of our baby girl, where is she?" Juliette closed the catalog she was leafing through, her eyes sweeping the room for any sign of her daughter.

"Oh, I let Gunnar have her for a few hours. He's been rather down and Cadence always brings a smile to his face. Plus I thought it'd be nice for us to have a few hours alone. Just the two of us," Avery kissed her cheek, placing a hand on her knee. "We haven't been alone for quite a while."

"No, we haven't. But are you sure he didn't mind? What if he and Scarlett had plans?"

"Trust me, they don't."

"Babe, don't you remember what they say about assuming?"

Avery chuckled and shook his head. "No, they broke up. Scarlett decided that she wasn't in love with him after all and wanted to sleep with that director of their video."

"What? That Damien what's his name? I heard that he was an asshole. Why would she dump Gunnar for him?" Juliette blinked in shock. Of all the couples to break up, she never thought it'd be Gunnar and Scarlett and Scarlett didn't seem to be the type to just dump the man she was with because of an attraction to another man.

"I don't know. I haven't talked to her and I can't say that I understand. I can tell you one thing, she's changed from the girl I came to Nashville with. The Scarlett I knew never would have messed with a guy like this. Poor Gunnar is devastated. Anyway, he was so happy playing with Cadence, I thought that a few more hours of not thinking about Scarlett would do him good."

Juliette just shook her head, wishing that she could give some insight on what must be in Scarlett's head, but she couldn't. She didn't have a clue. For her, Avery was it. There was no one she wanted more. Sure, there had been that flirtation with Noah, but she and Avery had been split both times and yes, the man was handsome and she was somewhat attracted to him..but when it came to a choice, Avery won each and every time. She just couldn't get over him. He held more than her heart.

Silently, she took his hand, wanting more contact with him. She studied his features and smiled as her heart beat a little bit faster. "I can't say that I understand. I've never wanted anyone more than I want you."

"I feel the same. Despite all of my fears about us...I never stopped wanting you. This whole thing with Scarlett and Gunnar...it made me see once again just how lucky I am to have found you. You know what you want. There's never any doubts. At least not where we're concerned."

Juliette could only smile, touched by his words. "I never want you to doubt it. No matter who may come along or how attractive or mysterious they may be, I'll never stop loving and wanting you. You're it for me."

Looking into her eyes, Avery knew that what she said was the truth. There was never going to be another man for her, just like there was never going to be another woman for him. Venus could walk into the room right now and she still wouldn't be able to hold a candle to the woman sitting next to him right now. He loved her more and more each day.

He never wanted them to be apart again.

"Marry me."

The words came without him even thinking about them. He hadn't even been planning to propose. But they were out there and he couldn't take them back, not even if he wanted to.

Juliette stared at him with shock in her eyes. Of all things,she hadn't been expecting a proposal.

"What did you just say?"

"I know it's sudden. Believe me, I wasn't planning on this. I wanted to do something more romantic...but...you're here and I'm feeling so connected to you right now, more connected than I've felt in a long time and...I want our lives to be bonded together again. We should never have been apart and it's my fault. I should never have even filed those papers...but we can do it again and this time our friends and family can be there and you can have the wedding dress of your dreams...and...I just want to marry you, Juliette. I need you to be my wife. What do you say? Make me the happiest man in the world? Even though I probably don't deserve it."

"You do deserve it. You more than deserve it after how patient and understanding you had to be in order to take me back. I had made such a big mess of everything. And the divorce wasn't your fault. It was mine. I should have gotten help when you, Glenn, and Emily had first told me to. But I had to be me..."

Avery just shook his hand and ran his fingers through her hair, enjoying the silken texture. "I thought we were through blaming ourselves. How about we both deserve happiness and the divorce...it was no one's fault. It was just one of those inevitable things that we can now fix. Just say yes."

Juliette wrapped her arms around his neck and happily smiled as she allowed herself to drown in his beautiful eyes. "Yes. Of course it's yes. There's no other answer other than yes. I'll happily remarry you...and this time it'll be in a church. Wedding dress, bridesmaids, and all of that good stuff."

Gazing into each other's eyes, they both knew that this time, their vows would stick. They had worked their way through their issues. They communicated with each other and were able to work through anything that flared up with minimum effort. They knew that there was no doubt in either of their minds that their place was with each other and no one was ever going to come between them again.

 _(A/N: Again, sorry for the long wait. I don't know how people would feel about me putting the Scunnar drama in the story, but I had issues to work out with that story line and instead of writing a new story, I just used it to move this story along some. Poor Gunnar, I am not a Scarlett fan right now. Thank you again for your patience! Thank you for reading!)_


	24. Chapter 24

_One Year Later..._

Juliette walked down the aisle, her body filled to the brim with anxiety. This wasn't even her first time walking down the aisle or even marrying Avery, but this was the first time where everything was perfect and she had no doubts at all in her mind about what she was doing. Glenn was by her side, walking her to the man she loved, as her best friend walked in front, leading the way. Avery's parents sat in front while his sister sat just behind them, her own husband by her side. Cadence was safely cuddled in her grandmother's arms, happily smiling and playing with her favorite stuffed animal. Gunnar stood next to Avery, his eyes on Emily. The two had finally hooked up after that awkward dinner that Avery had set up and they had been inseparable ever since. It had done them both good to see two people that they both cared about come together like that.

It was Avery that she couldn't take her eyes off of as she approached him. He was so handsome in his suit with his dark hair brushed back and his electric blue eyes filled with love and happiness. There was not a single shred of doubt there, which took away some of the anxiety she felt. If Avery was sure that this was what he wanted, why was she so worried? In fact, looking around, there was not an unhappy person in the park that they had rented for this event.

Juliette slid her hand into Avery's as they reached the podium and allowed herself to get lost in his beautiful blue eyes, eyes that promised her the unconditional love of a family that she had always longed to have, ever since she was old enough to be conscious of such a thing. A family that she had almost lost, but had earned back. A family that she was determined never to neglect or hurt again.

"You look gorgeous," Avery whispered, also getting lost in the eyes of the stunning blond before him.

"So do you," Juliette blushed, tightly holding on to his hand as she willed herself to breathe. She hated how nervous she felt. It was ridiculous. It wasn't like this was her first time.

"Relax. We're gonna get through this together and this time, it's going to last," Avery reassured her, reading her nervousness from how tightly she gripped his hand.

"I don't want to mess this up."

"You won't."

The priest cleared his throat, gaining both of their attention and smiled. "Who gives this woman to this man in holy matrimony."

Avery and Glenn's eyes met, both fighting the urge to laugh. Like anyone could just give Juliette Barnes to anyone. She was her own person. But this was a special occasion. Something that only someone who had a father's love could be graced with. Glenn just gave a wry smile and nodded.

"I do."

Juliette turned a bright smile to her manager/father figure, who just smiled back before kissing her forehead and taking a step back.

Juliette felt as if she was on auto pilot as she recited her vows, repeating the priest's words when necessary, slipping the golden ring on Avery's finger as he slipped a golden ring on hers. It was the kiss that sealed it all that brought the world flooding back. Her arms wrapped around Avery and held on tight, as if she was afraid that he'd disappear if she didn't hold on tight enough.

It was Avery that pulled away first, tears of happiness shining in his eyes. Looking into Juliettes, he knew that he was never going to let her go again, no matter what may happen from there. These vows were going to stick this time. There was no other option.

...

Six months later...

The satisfaction that Juliette felt at the sight of the house that had been completed just a few days ago was indescribable. It seemed like yesterday when she and Avery had sat down together and mapped out their dream house, and now here it was. No longer a dream, but a solid reality. It was the start of the rest of their lives and she had never been happier.

"I can't believe what a great job they did," Avery stared at the building, a wide grin lighting up his handsome face.

"They better have done a great job with the money we paid them," Juliette snorted, taking Avery's hand, wanting to explore the house as well as reveal a surprise that she had brimming with excitement to share for the past few days.

"I can't wait for Cadence to see it. She'll love it. All the rooms to explore, new things to see," Avery chuckled, kissing his wife's cheek. It had been six months of wedded bliss for Avery and Juliette. It was like the wedding had brought them even closer and there was no sign of the problems that had plagued their first try as a wedded couple. Now everything was as it should have always been. Communication remained key and they never allowed an issue to get any bigger than a minor concern that was easily put to rest after a few hours of discussion. Now this new home that they had designed and had built on Juliette's land was the icing on an already decadent cake of happiness.

In Avery's opinion, everything was complete. He had all he needed to be truly happy. The woman he loved, their daughter, a modest music career, and now a permanent home that he had helped plan. Little did he know that Juliette had a surprise to make their lives even more complete.

"Come on, babe. Let's go in and explore. I want to make sure that they got everything right. From our room, to Cadence's to the nursery and studios," Juliette's smile was coy and sweet. Her eyes sparkled as she released a clue to the secret she held.

"Everything should be perfect. We were pretty precise with the details," Avery chuckled, Juliette's clue going over his head. "But if you want to do a walk through, I'm all for it."

"Well let's not stand here and waste time. Let's go," Juliette winked, grabbing his hand and pulling him into the house, eager to reveal her happy news.

Avery didn't say a word as she pulled him into the house and straight up the stairs, not even stopping to explore the lower levels of the house, which confused him, but he assumed that maybe she wanted to explore the bedroom first, which he had no complaints about. He expected to enter a giant room that was to be the master bedroom, but instead, Juliette led him into a smaller room that he knew that he hadn't been a part of planning. The house was supposed to be a two bedroom house for himself, Juliette, and Cadence. So this extra bedroom was definitely a surprise.

"Juliette? I don't remember this room," Avery frowned, walking over to the window that looked out at the huge back yard.

"That's because this one wasn't planned. I added it on last minute," Juliette bit her bottom lip, beginning to worry that maybe Avery won't be happy about her news after all. After all, they hadn't really discussed this at all. She had no idea how he would feel.

"May I ask why? I guess it could be an extra office or something..."

"Well, we was going to need another room...for that awful yellow chair of yours...and another baby bed, toys and supplies...Cadence is still going to need her bed and...well it'd be best for a newborn, don't you think?"

Avery frowned as Juliette's words sunk in. His eyes widened with realization as it hit him what Juliette was trying to say.

"Newborn? As in baby? As in...we're going to have another baby?"

Juliette's smile was wide with excitement as she simply nodded her head. "In eight more months, we'll have another baby. Surprise?"

Avery sputtered at first, not knowing how to express his feelings, then he wrapped his arms around her and laughed. "Yes! I'm definitely surprised and you kept it a secret for this long?"

"I wanted to surprise you. I thought the introduction of a nursery was the perfect way," Juliette giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"It was...it most definitely was," Avery laughed before claiming her lips in a long, tender kiss. He pulled away and allowed himself to get lost in her beautiful eyes, feeling happy and even more complete than ever before. Before coming to Nashville, if someone had told him that he would end up married to Juliette Barnes, owning a home and expecting a second beautiful child with her, he would have laughed in their faces. It would have sounded like an impossible fantasy. Yet here he was, married to Juliette Barnes, a woman that had seemed so untouchable when they had first met, a father to their beautiful daughter, with another baby on the way.

"Are you happy?"

The little bit of doubt and fear he saw in her eyes made his heart ache. After all of this time, she still worried about disappointing him.

"Of course. You've made me even more happy than I was already. Our family is getting bigger..."

"This time it's going to be different...I won't freak out again like I did with Cadence," Juliette's own smiled faded, as she remembered the many mistakes she had made after her first pregnancy.

"You were sick. You didn't know what you were doing and...again I could have been more patient. But yeah, things will be different. If the depression comes back, we'll work through it, together. I won't leave and you won't tour. We'll get help and we'll continue living and loving our kids. We both have come such a long ways."

"I know...you could have just walked away. We could have just co-parented separately, but you didn't walk away. You kept holding on..."

"It's not like I didn't try. I did...but I couldn't. I loved you so much...you were a part of me by that time and I couldn't let go. I had to keep holding on. I'm glad that I did."

"I am too. Now everything is perfect."

Staring into each other's eyes, both Avery and Juliette knew that from here on out, the future was theirs and that no matter what, their family was going to be okay. Their love would make sure of it.

The End

 _ **A/N: This is the end, despite my attempts to come up with something else, it felt like it was time to end the story. It was fun to write in the world of Nashville. I can't promise more Javery stories, but if Nashville messes up our couple, or does another cliffhanging ending where Javery is concerned, I may be back. I want to thank everyone for reading, reviewing and liking this story. Your kind words kept this story going for as long as it did:) I hope that you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!**_


End file.
